JP5204528B2 - Bumper reinforcement - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bumper reinforcement in which end plates (reinforcing members) are provided at both ends of a bumper reinforcement main body portion made of a hollow material.

  Reinforcement members (corresponding to the end plate of the present invention) are provided at both ends of the bumper reinforcement in order to prevent the end of the bumper reinforcement from deforming and contacting the vehicle body in the event of a car corner collision. Is being considered. For example, in Patent Document 1, a substantially U-shaped reinforcing member is bent, inserted into both ends of a bumper reinforcement made of a hollow material, fixed with a reaction force of bending, and if necessary, inside a curved portion. It is described that the bolts are prevented from falling off. In addition, it is thought that bolting is indispensable in order to prevent the dropout at the time of a collision reliably.

JP 2005-313790 A

Since the reinforcing member described in Patent Document 1 is fixed inside the both ends of the bumper reinforcement by a reaction force of bending, it is necessary to insert the bumper reinforcement to the depth of the bumper reinforcement (the bumper reinforcement is most easily deformed by a corner collision). The reinforcement member is inserted in the vicinity of both end faces, but the depth of the reinforcement is small.) The weight increase is large, and the weight is further increased to prevent the bolt from falling off.
In addition, since the reinforcing member described in Patent Document 1 is substantially U-shaped and is fixed to the inside of both ends of the bumper reinforcement by a reaction force of bending, the upper and lower sides are reinforced at both ends of the bumper reinforcement. Department is not strengthened. However, depending on the assumed impact position of the corner collision and the magnitude of the impact load, there are cases where it is particularly desirable to strengthen the bumper reinforcement on the upper side, the lower side, or the center. I cannot respond to the request.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional bumper reinforcement in which both ends are reinforced with reinforcing members, and has improved corner collision by reinforcing the vicinity of both ends of the bumper reinforcement main body with a small weight increase. The main purpose is to provide bumper reinforcement (which can effectively suppress the cross-sectional deformation of the end of the bumper reinforcement against corner collisions and prevent the vehicle body from being damaged). Another object is to make it possible to reinforce the arbitrary position (vertical direction position) of the bumper reinforcement main body according to the magnitude of the impact load.

The present invention relates to a bumper reinforcement in which reinforcing members (end plates) are provided at both ends of a bumper reinforcement main body portion made of a hollow material, wherein the bumper reinforcement main body portion includes a front wall serving as a collision surface, a rear wall on the vehicle body side, and the an aluminum alloy extruded profile that have a vertical transverse wall which connects the front wall and the rear wall has an end face which is cut substantially in a plane perpendicular to the extrusion direction, the front wall to the end face, a rear wall and upper and lower transverse walls includes a cutting surface, said end plate is made of aluminum extruded profile, wherein the bumper reinforcement is attached to the end face of the body portion, an upper end rib is joined to the upper surface of the upper transverse wall, joined to the lower surface of the lower transverse wall A lower end rib, and an end plate main body connected to the upper end and the lower end rib, and the end plate main body is the bumper reinforcement. It has an inner protrusion that is inserted into the hollow interior from the end face of the body portion. In the present invention, aluminum includes an aluminum alloy.

  As a specific embodiment of the present invention, for example, the end plate main body has a portion bent toward the bumper reinforcement main body, and the inner protrusion is formed by the portion. The clearance between the inner surface of the upper and lower end ribs and the outer surfaces of the upper and lower horizontal walls of the bumper reinforcement main body portion is set so as to decrease toward the tip of the upper and lower end ribs, and both end portions of the bumper reinforcement main body portion are For example, it is crushed in the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, in bumper reinforcement in which both ends are reinforced with end plates, an arbitrary position (position in the height direction) in the vicinity of both ends is enhanced with a small weight increase, and the bumper reinforcement at the end of the bumper reinforcement at the time of a corner collision is strengthened. It is possible to provide a bumper reinforcement that is excellent in corner collision and can effectively prevent cross-sectional deformation and damage to the vehicle body. In addition, an arbitrary position (vertical direction position) of the bumper reinforcement main body can be intensively reinforced in accordance with an assumed corner collision hitting position and the magnitude of the impact load.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1-8, the bumper reinforcement which concerns on this invention is demonstrated concretely.
A bumper reinforcement 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a bumper reinforcement main body 2 and end plates 3 attached to both end faces.
The bumper reinforcement main body 2 is made of an extruded aluminum material having a hollow rectangular cross section composed of a front wall 4, a rear wall 5, an upper lateral wall 6 that connects the front wall 4 and the rear wall 5, and a lower lateral wall 7. It is cut into a predetermined length within a flat surface, and both end portions thereof are bent at a predetermined angle toward the vehicle body. The front wall 4 serves as a collision surface, and the rear wall 5 is located on the vehicle body side.

The end plate 3 is formed of an aluminum extruded profile having a solid cross section composed of an upper end rib 8 and a lower end rib 9 that are parallel to each other and an end plate main body 11 in which both ribs are connected substantially vertically. And cut to a predetermined length. The end plate main body portion 11 abuts against the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body portion 2 and has a portion bent inwardly in a trapezoidal shape at an intermediate portion in the vertical height direction, that is, an inner protrusion portion 12. The reinforcement main body 2 is inserted into the hollow interior from the end face.
The end plate 3 attached to the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 has an upper end rib 8 welded to the upper surface of the upper horizontal wall 6 (welded portion a) and a lower end rib 9 welded to the lower surface of the lower horizontal wall 7. (Welded part b). The width of the end plate 3 (length in the extrusion direction) is narrower than the distance between the front and rear walls 4 and 5 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2. The end plate 3 is selected to have a strength (material and thickness) that does not substantially deform at the corner impact test speed (5 km / h).

  If there is a corner collision with the bumper reinforcement 1, the vicinity of the end face of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 is most easily deformed, but the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 of the end plate 3 are welded and joined to the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7. In addition, since the inner projecting portion 12 of the end plate body 11 is inserted between the front wall 4 and the rear wall 5, the upper and lower end ribs can be deformed even if the cross section is crushed and deformed up to the width of the end plate 3 due to a collision load. 8 and 9 receive a load to suppress cross-sectional deformation, and the inner protrusion 12 is sandwiched inside the cross-section, whereby further cross-sectional deformation is suppressed. The larger the width of the end plate 3 is, the smaller the allowable amount of cross-sectional deformation of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 is, and the cross-sectional deformation is suppressed, and the smaller the end plate 3 is, the more energy is absorbed by the cross-sectional deformation of the bumper reinforce main body 2. Becomes larger. In consideration of these points, the width of the end plate 3 may be set as appropriate. One option is to make the width of the end plate 3 substantially coincide with the distance between the front and rear walls 4 and 5 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 so that the cross-sectional deformation in the vicinity of the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 does not substantially occur. It is.

This end plate 3 reinforces only the vicinity of the end surface that is most easily deformed by a corner collision, and the lengths of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 may be short (welded to the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2). However, since the inner protrusion 12 is not inserted to the back of the bumper reinforcement main body 2, there is no extra weight increase as in the prior art, and the corner of the bumper reinforcement 1 with a small increase in weight. Collision can be improved. The smaller the insertion depth W of the inner protrusion 12 (see FIG. 2B) is, the smaller the weight can be, the stronger the vicinity of the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 is. However, as a result of the experiment, the insertion depth W is determined to be bumper reinforcement. It is desirable that the thickness is equal to or greater than the thickness of the front wall 4 of the main body 2 in terms of suppressing cross-sectional deformation.
Note that the end plate 3 has a bent portion (recessed on the back side) inside the end plate main body portion 11 as an inner protruding portion 12, and the thickness of this portion is not increased. But there is little weight increase.

Hereinafter, another example of the bumper reinforcement according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8, the same reference numerals are assigned to substantially the same parts as those in FIG. 2.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, the end plate 3 attached to the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 has the upper end rib 8 welded to the upper horizontal wall 4 and the lower end rib 9 welded to the lower horizontal wall 5. As shown, other joining methods such as FSW joining (friction stir welding) can be used instead of welding joining. In FIG. 3, 13 is a rotation tool. In this case, it is desirable that the lengths of the upper end rib 8 and the lower end rib 9 (length perpendicular to the extrusion direction) be longer than in the case of welding shown in FIG.

  In the example shown in FIG. 1, the width of the end plate 3 is the same over the entire length from the upper end rib 8 to the lower end rib 9, but as shown in FIG. 4, the upper end rib 8, the lower end rib 9, the end plate main body 11, May be different. By increasing the width of the upper end rib 8 and the lower end rib 9, it is possible to increase the joining length. Therefore, the end plate is determined in consideration of the allowable amount of cross-sectional deformation of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 and the amount of energy absorbed by the cross-sectional deformation. This is effective when the width of the main body 11 (particularly the inner protrusion 12) is set narrow. Even in this case, the width of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 should not exceed the width of the bumper reinforcement main body 2.

The other form of the end plate 3 is shown to Fig.5 (a)-(c).
5A, the end plate body 11 is a flat plate, and a rib (inner protrusion 12) is formed near the center in the height direction. In this configuration, the vicinity of the center in the height direction in the vicinity of the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 can be strengthened with a smaller weight increase. In addition, the installation position and the number of installations of the ribs (inner protrusions 12) can be arbitrarily selected according to the assumed corner collision hit position and the magnitude of the impact load, as described above. it can.

5 (b), the inner surfaces of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 are inclined inward, and the distance between the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 becomes narrower toward the tip. The clearance between the inner surface of 9 and the outer surfaces of the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 is set so as to decrease toward the tips of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9. Therefore, when the end plate 3 is mounted on the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2, the gap between the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the outer surfaces of the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 is larger than that of the end plate shown in FIG. 1 is advantageous (in the case of the end plate shown in FIG. 1, a gap is likely to be formed between the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 depending on the extrusion tolerance), or there is an advantage that this gap is eliminated.
Further, when the distance between the tips of the upper and lower end ribs 8, 9 of the end plate 3 is set slightly smaller than the distance between the upper and lower horizontal walls 6, 7 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2, the end plate 3 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 is When mounted on the end surface (at this time, the end plate 3 is elastically deformed and mounted with a wider space between the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9), the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the upper and lower horizontal walls at the tips of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 6 and 7 come into contact with each other (no gap).
As described above, by reducing or eliminating the gap between the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 at the tips of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9, the end plate 3 can be joined as compared with the case where the gap is widened. More stable and strengthened.

  In the end plate 3 of FIG. 5C, the form of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 is the same as that of FIG. 5B. In addition, two end protrusions 12 are formed on the end plate body 11 to reinforce the vertical position near the end surface of the bumper reinforcement body 2. Although the end plate 3 is slightly heavier than the end plate of FIG. 2, the cross-sectional deformation near the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 can be stably suppressed in a wider range.

FIGS. 6A to 6C show other forms of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 and the end plate 3. The bumper reinforcement main body 2 has an intermediate horizontal wall 14 in the middle between the upper horizontal wall 6 and the lower horizontal wall 7 and has a daily cross section.
The end plate 3 of FIG. 6A has the end plate main body portion 11 in contact with the upper horizontal wall 6, the lower horizontal wall 7 and the middle horizontal wall 14, and the end plate main body portion 11 has two ribs (inner protrusions 12). Each of the inner protrusions 12 is disposed near the center of the upper horizontal wall 6 and the middle horizontal wall 14 and near the middle of the middle horizontal wall 14 and the lower horizontal wall 7.
The end plate 3 in FIG. 6B is the same as that shown in FIG. 5C, but the end plate main body 11 is also in contact with the middle horizontal wall 14.
The end plate 3 in FIG. 6C has the end plate main body 11 in contact with the upper horizontal wall 6, the lower horizontal wall 7 and the middle horizontal wall 14, and the end plate main body 11 has one rib (inner protrusion 12). The inner projecting portion 12 is disposed near the center of the middle lateral wall 14 and the lower lateral wall 7.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show other forms of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 and the end plate 3. The bumper reinforcement main body 2 is crushed in the vertical direction (from top to bottom), and the upper horizontal wall 6 is inclined downward toward the end surface. In addition, this crushing process has an effect of end reinforcement, and the effect is further enhanced by attaching the end plate 3.
In FIG. 7A, the end plate 3 has an upper end rib 8 that is inclined in the same manner as the upper horizontal wall 6 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2, and the end plate main body 11 has an end surface in the height direction of the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2. A rib (inner protrusion 12) is formed near the center.

  In FIG. 7B, the upper end rib 8 of the end plate 3 is substantially perpendicular to the end plate main body 11, and the distance between the upper and lower end ribs 8, 9 is substantially the same over the entire length of the rib. That is, the end plate 3 is such that the clearance between the inner surfaces of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the outer surfaces of the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 decreases toward the tips of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9. Is set to Thus, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the end plate 3 is mounted on the end surface of the bumper reinforcement main body 2, as in the case of FIG. 5B, at the tips of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9, The gap between the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the upper and lower horizontal walls 6 and 7 can be reduced or eliminated.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a difference in performance with respect to a corner collision in comparison with the bumper reinforcement according to the present invention and a comparative example.
Comparative Example 1 is a case in which no end plate is mounted, and when a collision load (assuming that a hit is applied to the lower part of the bumper reinforcement main body 2), the bumper reinforcement main body 2 is directly subjected to the collision load. It has a large cross-sectional deformation.
Comparative Example 2 is a case in which the end plate 3 is mounted, but the inner plate is not formed on the end plate 3. The collision load is received by the welded portion of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9, and the bumper reinforcement main body 2. The end plate 3 is rotated by a collision load biased to the lower portion of the plate, and a crack is generated in the welded portion. When a crack occurs in the welded portion, there is a risk that the function of suppressing the cross-sectional deformation of the bumper reinforcement main body portion 2 is suddenly lowered or the end plate 3 is dropped.

  On the other hand, Example 1 is equipped with the end plate 3 of the present invention in which the inner protrusion 12 is formed, and receives a collision load at the welded portion of the upper and lower end ribs 8 and 9 and the inner protrusion 12. The collision load is biased to the lower part of the bumper reinforcement main body 2, but the inner protrusion 12 is sandwiched between the sections of the bumper reinforcement main body 2 and the end plate 3 does not rotate. For this reason, the cross-sectional deformation | transformation of the bumper reinforcement main-body part 2 is suppressed, and it is also prevented that a crack generate | occur | produces in a welding part.

It is a top view of bumper reinforcement concerning the present invention. It is the perspective view (a) and sectional drawing which show the mounting state of an end plate in the bumper reinforcement which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing explaining the mounting method (FSW joining) of an end plate in the bumper reinforcement which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of another end plate concerning the present invention. It is sectional drawing (left) and right view (right) which show the mounting state of an end plate in another bumper reinforcement which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing (left) and right view (right) which show the mounting state of an end plate in another bumper reinforcement which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the mounting state of an end plate in another bumper reinforcement which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the difference of each performance with respect to a corner collision, contrasting the bumper reinforcement which concerns on an invention, and a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bumper reinforcement 2 Bumper reinforcement main-body part 3 End plate 4 Front wall 5 Rear wall 6 Upper side wall 7 Lower side wall 8 Upper end rib 9 Lower end rib 11 End plate main body part 12 Inner protrusion part 13 Rotating tool 14 Middle side wall

Claims (4)

In the bumper reinforcement in which the end plates for reinforcement are provided at both ends of the bumper reinforcement main body made of a hollow aluminum material, the bumper reinforcement main body includes a front wall that becomes a collision surface, a rear wall on the vehicle body side, and the front wall and the rear. an aluminum alloy extruded profile that have a vertical transverse wall connecting the wall has an end face which is cut substantially in a plane perpendicular to the extrusion direction, the front wall to the end face, a rear wall and cutting surfaces of the upper and lower transverse wall included, the end plate is made of aluminum extruded profile, wherein mounted on the end face of the bumper reinforcement body portion, an upper end rib is joined to the upper surface of the upper transverse wall, a lower end rib joined to the lower surface of the lower transverse wall And an end plate main body portion to which the upper end and lower end ribs are connected, and the end plate main body portion is the bumper reinforcement. Bumper reinforce, characterized in that it comprises an inwardly projecting portion which is inserted into the hollow interior from the end face of the body portion. 2. The bumper reinforcement according to claim 1, wherein the end plate has a portion bent inward, and the inner protrusion is formed by the portion. The clearance between the inner surface of the upper and lower end ribs of the end plate and the outer surface of the upper and lower horizontal walls of the bumper reinforcement main body is set so as to become smaller toward the tip of the upper and lower end ribs. The bumper reinforcement described in 1 or 2. The bumper reinforcement according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein both ends of the bumper reinforcement main body are crushed in the vertical direction.

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