JPH0516836A - Cowl structure in automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the extent of energy absorptive efficiency as well as to eliminate a reaction differential and lost motion due to an interference part and reduce a required space. CONSTITUTION:In a cowl of an automobile with a bonnet, two support members 3, 4 are attached to a substrate 2 where both the upper ends 3b, 4b are locked to a cover 5 and the lower ends 3a, 4a to the cowl 1, respectively, in space between the cowl 1 and the cover 5. In addition, both these upper and lower ends 3b, 4b and 3a, 4a are formed into a plate form each so as to make these support members 3, 4 rotate with these upper and lower ends 3b, 4b and 3a, 4a as the fulcrum. Moreover, an energy absorber 8 is installed in space between a front end 2a of the substrate 2 locked to the cowl 1 and a rear end 5b of the cover 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle cowl structure having a hood.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional cowl structure for an automobile for the purpose of protecting a pedestrian in the event of an accident, for example, there are structures shown in FIGS.
(See the official gazette).

That is, the hood 20 is composed of a main hood 21 and a sub hood 22, and the sub hood 22 is a hood arm 2.
It is supported by 3, a holder 24, a first link 25, and a second link 26.

As shown in FIG. 9, when an external force F acts rearward from the tip of the hood 20, the holder 24 attached to the main hood 21 has a lower end pin 27 of the first link 25.
Push backwards. The first link 25 pushed rearward rotates counterclockwise around the support pin 28, the rear end side of the sub hood 22 is flipped up via the second link 26, and the rotation is fixed by the stopper 29. The structure is such that it is done.

Then, the sub hood 22 that has been flipped up is
It was designed to absorb the impact energy of the pedestrian's head by being plastically deformed.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional cowl structure for an automobile, in order to normally operate the mechanism, each link or the like is required before the sub hood 22 is completely flipped up. It is necessary to increase the rigidity so that it does not deform. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7 as part B,
In the vicinity of the link attachment portion on the surface of the sub hood 22, the rigidity of the sub hood 22 in the interference direction is high (FIG. 5).
(See (B)).

On the other hand, the auxiliary hood 2 shown as part A in FIG.
At the center of the rear end of 2, the reaction force is weak as shown as (A) in FIG. As described above, there is a problem that the reaction force characteristics may differ depending on the interference portion. In addition, a wide link space is required, and since the structure uses links and elongated holes, there is a problem that looseness is likely to occur.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and improves the energy absorption efficiency, eliminates the reaction force difference and rattling due to the interference portion, and reduces the required space of the automobile cowl. It is intended to provide a structure.

[0009]

Therefore, according to the present invention, in a cowl of an automobile having a bonnet, a cover for covering the cowl and a load greater than a predetermined amount are placed between the cover and the cowl at an upper end of the cover and a lower end of the cowl. A plurality of supporting members mounted so as to rotate about the upper and lower ends as fulcrums when hung, and an energy absorber mounted between the cowl front end portion and the cover rear end portion are provided.

[0010]

When a pedestrian hit by the vehicle interferes with the cowl, when the head moves in the vehicle front-rear direction, the support member first pivots about the upper and lower ends as a fulcrum, and then falls, causing energy to fall. The absorber stretches and absorbs pedestrian energy. Then, the movement in the front-rear direction is stopped, and the support member deforms and absorbs energy with respect to the load in the up-down direction which becomes remarkable.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB, FIG. 2 is a plan view, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view.

First, the configuration will be described. In a cowl 1 of an automobile having a bonnet, a lower end portion 3a of a support member 3 is provided on a front portion 2a of a substrate 2 and a lower end portion 4 of a support member 4 is provided on a rear portion 2b.
a is fixed. In addition, the upper end portion 3 of the support members 3 and 4
A cover 5 is fixed to the b and 4b in a continuous state with the hood 6.

The support members 3 and 4 have lower end portions 3a and 4a.
And the upper and lower end portions 3b, 4 are those which hinder the rotation of the bead 7 so that the upper and lower end portions 3b, 4b can rotate back and forth when a load larger than a predetermined amount is applied to the support members 3, 4.
b, 3a, 4a are not provided, and are flat plates.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an energy absorber extending from the front end portion 2a of the substrate 2 to the rear end portion 5b of the cover 5 and provided with a wavy bead 9.

The board 2 is inserted into a fixing metal fitting 10 having a rear end 2b attached to the cowl 1 and then fastened to the cowl 1 by a bolt 11 at the front end 2a.
In addition, 12 is a glass and 13 is a wiper.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIGS. When a pedestrian hit by a vehicle interferes with the cowl 1 as shown in FIG. 4, the head 14 moves from the position shown by the dotted line to the position shown by the solid line, depending on the way of the interference. There are cases where the movement mode of

At this time, when the head 14 interferes with the cover 5, a frictional force is generated, so that the entire cover 5 is deformed in a direction in which the supporting members 3 and 4 are pushed down. Then, the energy absorber 8 is stretched and the corrugated bead 9 is stretched, so that the deformation absorbs energy.

On the other hand, when the energy absorber 8 is deformed to a certain extent, the extension deformation of the energy absorber 8 is stopped, but the movement of the head 14 in the vehicle front-rear direction is also stopped, and the support members 3, 4 are supported against the vertical load which becomes remarkable at that time. Has a function that the energy absorption characteristic originally possessed in the axial direction (in-plane direction).

As described above, the energy absorption function of the energy absorbers 8 and the support members 3 and 4 that are obliquely passed through the absorbers effectively absorb the energy of the pedestrian. FIG. 5 shows the load-displacement characteristics of this embodiment in comparison with the conventional example. First, the energy absorber 8 displaces with a small load to absorb energy, and then the support members 3 and 4 absorb large energy.

Even when the pedestrian does not move in the front-back direction, the energy of the pedestrian is absorbed by the action of the energy absorbing function of the supporting members 3 and 4.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a hydraulic damper 15 is used instead of the energy absorber 8 of the above embodiment, which is obliquely passed over the cowl 1.

According to this embodiment, the energy absorption amount can be increased, and the energy absorption amount can be changed by changing the characteristic value of the hydraulic damper 15, so that the energy absorption amount can be set accurately, and There is an effect that the set value can be easily changed.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if a pedestrian is hit, the energy of the pedestrian can be effectively absorbed. Can be absorbed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the same.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing load-displacement characteristics.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Cowl 2 ... Substrate 3,4 ... Supporting member 5 ... Cover 8 ... Energy absorber 9 ... Bead 15 ... Hydraulic damper

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A cowl for an automobile having a bonnet, wherein a cover for covering the cowl and an upper end and a lower end between the cover and the cowl when a predetermined amount of load or more is applied between them. A cowl structure for an automobile, comprising: a plurality of support members mounted so as to rotate about the upper and lower ends as fulcrums, and an energy absorber mounted between a front end portion of the cowl and a rear end portion of the cover. ..