JP4882306B2 - Engine hood lock device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine hood lock device.

Conventionally, when a collision is detected, the engine hood is disengaged from the vehicle body and the engine hood is flipped up, and an energy absorbing member and an airbag are moved and arranged between the engine hood and the vehicle body. What improved absorption efficiency is known (patent document 1).
JP 2002-79906 A

  However, in the apparatus of Patent Document 1, the energy absorption efficiency can be increased, but the number of parts is increased and the configuration is complicated and the weight is increased by providing a mechanism for moving the energy absorbing member and the airbag. In addition, there is a problem in that the manufacturing cost increases.

  Then, an object of this invention is to obtain the engine hood lock apparatus which can improve energy absorption efficiency with a simpler structure.

In the present invention, in an engine hood lock device that locks a striker provided on an engine hood that closes an upper opening of an engine room so as to be opened and closed by a lock mechanism, a collision detection sensor that detects or predicts a collision, and the collision An emergency operation mechanism for releasing the lock by the lock mechanism based on a detection signal of the detection sensor, and the lock mechanism is provided with a lock arm movably provided on the vehicle body and a lock arm movably provided on the vehicle body. A latch arm that locks the arm, and the emergency operating mechanism moves the striker to an open position above the lock position, thereby moving the engine hood upward and the striker in the open position. The downward movement prevention means is used to restrict the downward movement of the Nfudo is configured to regulate the movement downward, the by moving the latch arm by a very operating mechanism, moves urge the lock arm releasing the engagement by the latch arm by a predetermined biasing mechanism The striker downward movement preventing means configured to move the striker to the open position above the lock position by the lock arm and to support the lock arm from below by the latch arm moved by the emergency operation mechanism. The main feature is that when a downward force is applied to the lock arm, the lock arm is prevented from rotating and the striker is prevented from moving downward from the open position .

According to the present invention, when a collision is detected, the striker can be moved to an open position higher than the normal holding position, and movement downward from the position can be restricted. Thus, the energy absorption efficiency can be increased.
Further, according to the present invention, even if an object collides with the engine hood from above and a force directed downward from the striker to the lock mechanism side, that is, the lock arm, the latch arm supports the lock arm from below. Moreover, since the latch arm is restricted from moving in the direction in which the lock arm is moved downward, that is, in the direction in which the latch arm is rotated counterclockwise around the axis, the striker is It cannot move further downward than the open position. Therefore, according to the present invention, when a collision occurs, the striker can be held at an open position higher than the lock position. As a result, the front end portion of the engine hood is held at a higher position than when the engine hood is closed, and accordingly, a larger deformation stroke of the engine hood can be secured, and energy absorption efficiency due to the deformation of the engine hood can be improved. I can .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the entire engine hood lock device according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a lock mechanism of the engine hood lock device, and FIGS. 3 to 5 show the operation of the lock mechanism. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state before the striker is received, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the striker is locked, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the latch arm is rotated by the emergency operation mechanism. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the engine hood as viewed from the back side, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the engine hood (AA sectional view of FIG. 6).

  The engine hood 1 is rotatably attached to the vehicle body via a hinge mechanism (not shown), and closes an upper opening of an engine room (not shown) formed at the front of the vehicle body so as to be opened and closed.

  A striker 2 projects from the back surface of the center of the front edge of the engine hood 1. In this embodiment, the striker 2 is formed by bending a rod-like member into a substantially U shape, and a held portion 2a is provided as a straight section in a portion corresponding to the bottom portion of the U shape. It is attached to the engine hood 1 so as to be along the front-rear direction.

  On the other hand, a lock mechanism 4 is attached to the vehicle body side, for example, the center part in the vehicle width direction of the radiator core support 3 disposed on the front side of the engine room. The striker 2 is locked in the closed state to prevent the engine hood 1 from being opened unintentionally.

  Further, when the operation lever 5 provided in the vehicle interior is operated, the cable 6 is pulled, and the lock of the striker 2 by the lock mechanism 4 is released. Further, in the present embodiment, a collision detection sensor 7 (for example, an acceleration sensor) is provided at the front end of the vehicle body, and a detection signal output from the collision detection sensor 7 when a collision is detected or predicted by the collision detection sensor 7. An emergency operation mechanism 8 for pulling the cable 6 is provided. These detailed operations will be described later.

  The lock mechanism 4 includes a base plate 9 fixed to the vehicle body, a lock arm 10 that is pivotally supported (movably supported) on the base plate 9, a latch arm 11, a release lever 14, and the lock arm 10. Coil springs 12, 13, and 15 for urging the latch arm 11 and the release lever 14 in predetermined rotation directions, respectively.

  The base plate 9 is attached to the vehicle body by a predetermined fixing means such as a bolt in a posture in which the front and back surfaces are directed in the vehicle front-rear direction. A cutout 9a for receiving the striker 2 is formed at the center of the base plate 9 in the vehicle width direction.

  The lock arm 10 and the latch arm 11 are disposed so as to face each other across the notch 9a. In the present embodiment, the lock arm 10 is disposed on the left side (in the rear view of FIGS. 3 to 5) in the vehicle traveling direction, and the latch arm 11 is disposed on the right side.

  The lock arm 10 includes a striker restricting portion 10a and a striker receiving portion 10b which are provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft 17 and extend from the shaft center in a substantially U shape. Although details will be described later, the striker 2 that has been lowered along with the closing operation of the engine hood 1 enters the recessed portion 10d between the striker restricting portion 10a and the striker receiving portion 10b, and the striker is in a locked state. 2 is accommodated in the recess 10d.

  Further, the lock arm 10 includes a spring hooking portion 10c that extends from the axial center to substantially the opposite side of the striker restricting portion 10a and the striker receiving portion 10b. One end of a coil spring 12 (tensile spring) as an urging means is connected to the distal end portion 10e of the spring hooking portion 10c, while the other end of the coil spring 12 is on the right side of the base plate 9 in the vehicle traveling direction. To the side wall portion 9b. In other words, the lock arm 10 is urged by the coil spring 12 in the counterclockwise direction when viewed from the back, that is, in the direction of pushing up the striker 2 upward.

  The latch arm 11 includes a lock arm support portion 11a and a spring hook portion 11b that are provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft 18 and extend in opposite directions from the shaft center. In addition, although mentioned later for details, the notch 11d is formed in the lock arm 10 side of the spring hook part 11b, and when the striker 2 is locked, the striker receiving part of the lock arm 10 is in the notch 11d. 10b is accommodated. A protrusion closer to the axial center than the notch 11d is a lock arm locking portion 11c that latches the lock arm 10.

  One end of a coil spring 13 (tensile spring) as an urging means is connected to the tip end portion 11e of the spring hooking portion 11b of the latch arm 11, while the other end of the coil spring 13 is below the base plate 9. Connected to the wall 9c. In other words, the latch arm 11 is urged clockwise by the coil spring 13 in the rear view.

  Further, an inner cable 16 accommodated in the cable 6 is connected to the distal end portion 11e, and the latch arm 11 is pulled by the inner cable 16 pulled by the operation of the operation lever 5 or the operation of the emergency operation mechanism 8. It is designed to rotate counterclockwise. In the present embodiment, the notch 9e is formed in the end wall portion 9d on the right side and the lower side of the base plate 9 in the vehicle traveling direction, and the outer skin fixing portion 6a of the cable 6 is fitted into the notch 9e.

  The front end portion of the engine hood 1 is provided with a reinforcing member 20 as a beam extending in the vehicle width direction. When an object collides with the engine hood 1, the rigidity and strength of the engine hood 1 are increased. The energy absorption efficiency is improved.

  In this case, if the reinforcing member 20 is provided in contact with the back surface of the engine hood 1, the reinforcing member 20 can be easily attached. Moreover, if the striker 2 is arranged in the extending direction (on the extension line) of the reinforcing member 20, the force input from the striker 2 to the lock mechanism 4 can be absorbed more effectively.

  Here, the operation of the lock mechanism 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, in the state where the engine hood 1 is opened, the lock arm 10 has the striker restricting portion 10a withdraws from the track of the striker 2 (the held portion 2a) and the striker receiving portion 10b. Is held in a posture that has advanced on the track of the striker 2 (to-be-held portion 2a). Such a posture is provided with an unillustrated engagement mechanism (for example, a stopper or the like) for engaging the lock arm 10 and the base plate 9 against the urging force in the counterclockwise direction acting on the lock arm 10 by the coil spring 12. And can be held.

  At this time, the latch arm 11 is held in a posture in which the notch 11d is opened to the lock arm 10 side. Such a posture is achieved by providing an engagement mechanism (not shown) that engages the latch arm 11 and the base plate 9 against the urging force in the clockwise direction acting on the latch arm 11 by the coil spring 13. Can hold.

  In this state, when the striker 2 (the held portion 2a thereof) is lowered, the striker 2 pushes the striker receiving portion 10b of the lock arm 10 downward, so that the lock arm 10 rotates clockwise.

  The striker 2 is configured not to advance below the position of FIG. 4 (position when the engine hood 1 is closed), and the lock arm 10 is pushed by the held portion 2a of the striker 2 and is shown in FIG. Rotate to position. At this position, both the striker restricting portion 10a and the striker receiving portion 10b advance on the track of the striker 2, and the held portion 2a of the striker 2 is narrowed from above and below by the striker restricting portion 10a and the striker receiving portion 10b. It becomes a state.

  Further, at this position, the striker receiving portion 10 b and the lock arm locking portion 11 c are engaged, and the lock arm 10 is latched by the latch arm 11. That is, in the engagement portion between the striker receiving portion 10b and the lock arm locking portion 11c, a pressing force by the urging force of the coil spring 12 acts on the latch arm 11 from the lock arm 10, and conversely, from the latch arm 11 The lock arm 10 is pressed by the urging force of the coil spring 13. The lock arm 10 acts on the latch arm 11 by arranging the coil spring 12 closer to the shafts 17 and 18 than the coil spring 13. The force is made smaller than the force acting on the lock arm 10 from the latch arm 11. Therefore, the counterclockwise rotation of the lock arm 10 is restricted by the latch arm 11, and as a result, the upward movement of the held portion 2a of the striker 2 by the striker restricting portion 10a of the lock arm 10, that is, the engine hood 1 Will be regulated. While the lock arm 10 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 4, the latch arm 11 is once pushed counterclockwise by the lock arm 10, but in the state shown in FIG. It will return to the same position as the state.

  When the operation lever 5 is operated in this state, the inner cable 16 in the cable 6 is pulled by the pulling amount L1, the latch arm 11 is rotated counterclockwise, and the latch with respect to the lock arm 10 is released. Then, the lock arm 10 is rotated counterclockwise (biased rotation) by the urging force of the coil spring 12, and returns to the state shown in FIG. Therefore, the striker 2 can move upward, and if the release lever 14 is operated to disengage the claw 19, the engine hood 1 can be lifted to open the upper opening of the engine room. it can.

  On the other hand, when a collision is detected or predicted by the collision detection sensor 7, a detection signal is output to the emergency operation mechanism 8. The emergency operation mechanism 8 pulls the inner cable 16 of the cable 6 with a pulling amount L2 longer than the pulling amount L1 by the normal operation lever 5, and rotates the latch arm 11 more in the counterclockwise direction.

  At this time, since the latch of the lock arm 10 by the latch arm 11 is released, the lock arm 10 rotates counterclockwise to the same position as in the state of FIG. And the upward movement restriction of the striker 2 by the lock arm 10 is released. That is, the striker 2 moves to a position (open position; FIG. 5) above the position (lock position; FIG. 4) when locked by the lock arm 10.

  On the other hand, the latch arm 11 further rotates counterclockwise even after the latch of the lock arm 10 is released, and the lock arm support portion 11a of the latch arm 11 receives the striker of the lock arm 10 as shown in FIG. The positional relationship comes into contact with the lower side of the portion 10b. Furthermore, an engagement mechanism (not shown) for engaging the base plate 9 and the latch arm 11 is provided so that the latch arm 11 does not rotate further counterclockwise than the position shown in FIG. In addition, the side wall part 9b can be used as an engaging part on the base plate 9 side.

  Therefore, even if an object collides with the engine hood 1 from above in the state of FIG. 5 and a downward force is applied from the striker 2 to the lock mechanism 4, that is, the lock arm 10, the lock arm 10 is latched. The arm 11 supports from below, and the latch arm 11 rotates in a direction in which the lock arm 10 is moved downward, that is, in a direction in which the latch arm 11 is rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 18. Since the movement is restricted, the striker 2 cannot move further downward than the open position in FIG.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when a collision occurs, the striker 2 can be held at an open position higher than the lock position. As a result, the front end of the engine hood 1 is held at a higher position than when the engine hood 1 is closed, so that a larger deformation stroke of the engine hood 1 can be secured, and the energy absorption efficiency due to the deformation of the engine hood 1 can be increased. Can be increased.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the striker 2 is arranged above the lock arm 10 in a state where the latch arm 11 is rotated by the emergency operation mechanism 8 and the lock of the striker 2 by the lock arm 10 is released. Therefore, the configuration in which the striker 2 is prevented from moving downward from the open position by the latch arm 11, the rotation of the lock arm 10 is regulated by the latch arm 11 that is largely rotated by the emergency operation mechanism 8, The lock arm 10 can be realized with a configuration that is greatly simplified as compared with the above-described conventional apparatus in which the striker 2 is prevented from moving downward from the open position.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the emergency operation mechanism 8 is configured to be pulled with a pulling amount L2 larger than the normal pulling amount L1 required to release the latch of the lock arm 10, so that the emergency operation mechanism 8 is It can be embodied as a relatively simple configuration.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

  For example, the lock mechanism only needs to be able to receive and lock the striker provided in the engine hood, and the installation position, the member to be installed, the shape, the mounting posture, the size, etc. are not limited to the above embodiment. .

  Further, the arrangement (the difference between right and left) of the lock arm and latch arm in the lock mechanism, the installation position, the engagement position between the arms, the installation position of the coil spring, the pulling position by the cable, etc. are not limited to the above embodiment. Can be changed as appropriate.

  Further, the operation of the lock arm, the latch arm, and the like in the lock mechanism is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the lock mechanism may be configured to slide (advance / retreat operation) along a predetermined path instead of rotating.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an entire engine hood lock device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The disassembled perspective view of the lock mechanism of the engine hood lock device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The rear view which shows the state before the lock mechanism of the engine hood lock device concerning embodiment of this invention receives a striker. The rear view which shows the state which the lock mechanism of the engine hood lock apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention has locked the striker. The rear view of the lock mechanism which shows the state which rotated the latch arm with the emergency operation mechanism of the engine hood lock apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. The top view which looked at the engine hood from the back side. The longitudinal cross-sectional view of engine hood (AA sectional drawing of FIG. 6).

Explanation of symbols

1 Engine hood 2 Strike 3 Radiator core support (vehicle body)
4 Lock mechanism 6 Cable 7 Collision detection sensor 8 Emergency operation mechanism 10 Lock arm 11 Latch arm 12 Coil spring (biasing mechanism)

Claims (2)

In the engine hood lock device that locks the striker provided in the engine hood that closes the upper opening of the engine room so as to be openable and closable by a lock mechanism,
A collision detection sensor for detecting or predicting a collision;
Based on a detection signal of the collision detection sensor, an emergency operation mechanism that releases the lock by the lock mechanism;
With
The lock mechanism includes a lock arm that is movably provided on the vehicle body, and a latch arm that is movably provided on the vehicle body and engages the lock arm.
The emergency operation mechanism moves the striker to an open position above the lock position, thereby moving the engine hood upward and preventing the striker from moving downward from the open position by a striker downward movement preventing means. And restricting the engine hood from moving downward ,
By moving the latch arm by the emergency operation mechanism, the lock arm released from the latch arm is urged and moved by a predetermined urging mechanism, and the striker is moved to the open position above the lock position by the lock arm. The lock arm is moved when a downward force is applied from the striker to the lock arm by the striker downward movement preventing means, which is configured by the latch arm moved by the emergency operation mechanism and supporting the lock arm from below. An engine hood lock device characterized by preventing the striker from moving downward from the open position by preventing the rotation of the striker . The cable pulling to move the latch arm is provided, according to claim 1, the emergency operation mechanism, characterized by being configured as causing a traction greater than the normal pulling amount required to release the locking of the locking arm The engine hood lock device described in 1.

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