JPH0544205Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to the front bumper of automobiles, and is particularly applicable to automobiles that are provided with a cooling air inlet for a radiator or a concave portion for attaching a license plate. This concerns the front bumper.

(Prior Art) Bumpers on automobiles are provided to protect parts such as the body and lamps when they come into contact with other vehicles or objects, and to absorb collision energy. Increasingly, they are also required to play a role as a design component to improve the appearance quality of vehicles. For this purpose, for example, a large soft fascia type bumper in which a front grille, apron, etc. are integrally molded has been developed and put into practical use.

Such soft fascia type bumpers are provided with various recesses, such as a radiator cooling air inlet, a license plate mounting recess, and a turn signal lamp mounting hole, taking into consideration the design effect of the bumper. There are many things. For this reason, such a front bumper has many stepped portions, that is, an upper portion and a lower portion located at different positions in the interior and exterior directions of the vehicle body, and a horizontal portion connecting the portions.

Incidentally, generally, headlamps are provided directly above the front bumper on both left and right sides of the front surface of the vehicle body. In order to fully demonstrate its performance and obtain maximum effectiveness, the headlamp requires accurate aiming of its optical axis. Therefore, the optical axis of a headlamp is usually adjusted in the horizontal and vertical directions using several adjustment screws. The adjustment screw is often also provided on the underside of the headlamp. In such a case, the adjustment screw will be located below the top surface of the front bumper.

Conventionally, when adjusting the optical axis of a headlamp that has an adjustment screw on the bottom side, a tool such as a screwdriver is inserted between the headlamp and the bumper diagonally downward from above. Therefore, the adjustment screw had to be turned. Therefore, it has become necessary to provide a notch in the top surface of the front bumper in order to allow the tool to reach the adjustment screw.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, such a notch for inserting a tool must be exposed to the outside.
Therefore, if a cutout is provided on the top surface of the front bumper, the hole formed by the cutout will be directly visible. Moreover, since the bumper is provided at a relatively low position on the vehicle body, the hole present on the top surface of the bumper is extremely noticeable.

Therefore, there is a problem in that the design effect of the bumper is impaired and the commercial value of the automobile is reduced.

The present invention was devised in view of these problems, and its purpose is to eliminate the need for an insertion hole into which a tool is inserted for rotating the optical axis adjustment screw of the headlamp. To obtain a front bumper for a car that does not spoil the appearance of the car body.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve this object, the present invention proposes to select one of the many recesses provided in the front bumper that recesses from the outer surface toward the inside of the vehicle body. is placed in a position where the horizontal part forming the upper surface of the recess is almost opposite to the optical axis adjustment screw of the headlamp, and a screw for turning the optical axis adjustment screw is placed at the inner end of the horizontal part inside the vehicle body. A tool insertion hole is formed.

(Function) With this configuration, the insertion hole is hidden behind the step formed in the front bumper. Therefore, the insertion hole is no longer directly visible from diagonally above.

As a result, the appearance of the vehicle becomes extremely good.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described using the drawings.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the front of an automobile to which a front bumper according to the present invention is attached, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the front bumper. Further, FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views of the front bumper and headlamp taken along lines - and - in FIG. 1, respectively.

In addition, in the explanation of the following examples, "right"
The term "left" refers to the forward right or left side of the vehicle.

As is clear from FIG. 1, a front bumper 1 is attached to the front of the automobile. On the vehicle body directly above the bumper 1, substantially rectangular headlamps 2, 2 are provided on both left and right sides.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the bumper 1 is a large soft fascia type made of synthetic resin or the like. Attachment holes 3, 3 for combination lamps such as direction indicator lamps are formed at both left and right end portions of the bumper 1.

In addition, the bumper 1 has six oval openings 4, 4, . ing. A cylindrical flange portion 5 protruding toward the rear of the vehicle body is provided on the periphery of each of the openings 4, 4, . . . , respectively. Therefore, the cylindrical flange portion 5 forms a concave portion in the bumper 1 that is recessed from the front surface of the bumper 1 toward the rear of the vehicle body, that is, toward the inside of the vehicle body. As shown in FIG. 1, a radiator 6 is disposed behind these recesses. The opening 4 and the internal space of the cylindrical flange portion 5 form cooling air inlets 7, 7, . . . for the radiator 6.

The three right introduction ports 7 are partially blocked by a thin wall portion 8 in order to adjust the amount of cooling air introduced. As shown in FIG. 1, the thin section 8 is located directly below the right headlamp 2. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the thin wall portion 8 is provided continuously to the rear end of the cylindrical flange portion 5. In this way, bumper 1
A horizontal portion 10, which forms the upper surface of the cooling air inlet 7, that is, the upper surface of the recessed portion, is formed between the portion 9 directly above the opening 4 and the thin portion 8.

A hole 11 is bored at the boundary between the upper end of the thin wall portion 8 of the inlet 7 located at the uppermost position and the flange portion 5 continuous thereto.

As shown in FIG. 3, the right headlamp 2 is attached to a mount member 12, and the mount member 12 is attached to a bulkhead 13 of the vehicle body so as to be rotatable in vertical and horizontal directions. Further, the head of an adjustment screw 14 for adjusting the vertical angle of the headlamp 2 is connected to the mount member 12 via a ball joint. The adjustment screw 14 is adapted to be screwed into a female threaded member 15 fixed to the bulkhead 13.

The above-mentioned hole 11 is arranged so as to face the head of the adjustment screw 14 at a position slightly below the head.

Therefore, by inserting the driver 16, which is a tool, into the hole 11 from the front of the vehicle body slightly upward in the direction of arrow A, the adjustment screw 14 can be turned. As a result, the optical axis of the right headlamp 2 is adjusted in the vertical direction. That is, the hole 11 constitutes an insertion hole for a tool for adjusting the optical axis of the right headlamp 2.

The tool insertion hole 11 formed in this way is provided in the upper flange portion 5 and the upper end of the thin wall portion 8 directly below it, so that it is formed in the upper flange portion 5, that is, in the horizontal portion 10. It will be covered. Therefore, the insertion hole 11 is not directly visible unless viewed from below.

In this way, the insertion hole 11 is hidden behind the horizontal portion 10, so that the appearance of the vehicle body becomes extremely good.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the bumper 1 has a rectangular recess 18 formed from near the center to the left side thereof, into which a license plate 17 is attached. The concave portion 18
The bumper 1 is also recessed from the outer surface toward the inside of the vehicle body. Therefore, a horizontal portion 20 is formed between the portion 19 directly above the recessed portion 18 and the bottom portion 18a of the recessed portion 18, and the upper surface of the recessed portion 18 is formed by the horizontal portion 20. Concave portion 18
A substantially T-shaped mounting base 21 to which the license plate 17 is fixed is formed on the bottom portion 18a of the vehicle so as to slightly protrude toward the front of the vehicle body.
The license plate 17 is fixed to its mounting base 21 by screws 22.
The area of the recessed portion 18 is the area of the license plate 17.
As a result, a gap r is formed between the side wall 18b of the concave portion 18 and the outer peripheral edge of the license plate 17.

As shown in FIG. 1, the condenser 23 of the air conditioner is arranged behind the bumper 1 from the cooling air inlet 7 of the radiator 6 to the mounting recess 18 of the license plate 17. It's summery. In order to take in cooling air to cool the condenser 23, a pair of openings 24 are formed in the bottom 18a of the concave portion 18. Therefore, the cooling air for the condenser 23 is introduced into the condenser 23 through the gap r and the opening 24. Since the area in which the opening 24 is formed is smaller than the size of the license plate 17, when the license plate 17 is attached to the bumper 1, the opening 24 is not visible from the front of the vehicle body.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the upper side wall 18b of the recessed portion 18, that is, the horizontal portion 20
A hole 25 is bored near the left end of the boundary between the horizontal portion 20 and the bottom portion 18a.
The hole 25 is located below the left headlamp 2.

The optical axis adjustment screw 26 for adjusting the vertical angle of the left headlamp 2 is arranged so that its head faces the hole 25 at a position slightly above the hole 25, as in the case of the right headlamp 2 described above. It is located. In other words, license plate 1
The mounting recess 18 of No. 7 is disposed below the left headlamp 2, and the horizontal portion 20 of the recess 18 is located at a portion substantially opposite to the optical axis adjustment screw 26 of the headlamp 2. Part 2
A hole 25 is provided at the rear end of 0. Therefore, by inserting the driver 16 into the gap r and the hole 25 in the direction of arrow B from the front of the vehicle body slightly upward, the adjustment screw 26 can be turned. Accordingly, the optical axis of the left headlamp 2 is vertically adjusted. That is, the hole 25 constitutes an insertion hole for a tool for adjusting the optical axis of the left headlamp 2.

Since such an insertion hole 25 is provided in the upper side wall 18b forming the recessed part 18, that is, in the horizontal part 20 and the bottom part 18a directly below it, it is blocked by the horizontal part 20. There is no longer anything that can be seen directly from diagonally above.

In this way, the insertion hole 25 is also hidden behind the horizontal portion 20, resulting in an extremely good appearance.

Since these tool insertion holes 11 and 25 are formed using existing recesses such as the cooling air inlet 7 of the radiator 6 and the mounting recess 18 of the license plate 17, special recesses are not required. There is no need to provide it, and it can be formed extremely simply and at low cost.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the tool insertion hole 1
1 and 25 are the cooling air inlet 7 of the radiator 6 and the mounting recess 18 of the license plate 17, respectively.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other recesses formed in the bumper 1, such as the combination lamp attachment hole 3 or the fog lamp attachment hole, can also be used. Similarly, in the bumper 1 that extends to the side of the vehicle body, a recess formed in the extension of the side surface of the vehicle can also be utilized. In that case,
Which recess is to be used may be appropriately selected depending on the positions of the adjusting screws 14 and 26 of the headlamp 2.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the tool insertion hole 1
1 and 25 are formed at the boundary between the horizontal portions 10 and 20 and the thin wall portion 8 and the bottom portion 18a, but they may not be provided only at the rear ends of the horizontal portions 10 and 20 or only at the thin wall portion 8 and the bottom portion 18a. You can also do it. In short, it is only necessary to form the insertion holes 11 and 25 within a predetermined range C that cannot be seen directly in a standing position.

Furthermore, in cases where the thin wall portion 8 is not provided, or in cases where the optical axis adjustment screw of the lamp 2 directly faces the cooling air inlet 7 of the radiator 6, the cooling air inlet 7 can be left as is. It may also be used as a tool insertion hole.

Moreover, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the tool insertion holes 11 and 2
5 is for adjusting in the vertical direction, adjustment holes for adjusting in the horizontal direction can also be provided as appropriate in the same way.

(Effect of the invention) As is clear from the above explanation, according to the invention, the horizontal part forming the upper surface of the recessed part provided in the front bumper so as to be recessed from the outer surface toward the inside of the vehicle body. It is placed so that it is almost opposite the optical axis adjustment screw of the headlamp, and an insertion hole for a tool for turning the optical axis adjustment screw is provided at the end of the horizontal part inside the vehicle body. , the insertion hole is hidden behind the horizontal portion, and the insertion hole is no longer directly visible from diagonally above. Therefore, the appearance is good,
It becomes possible to fully demonstrate the effect of the bumper as a design component. As a result, the marketability of the bumper is significantly improved.

In addition, the horizontal part where the tool insertion slot is provided does not need to be specially formed for this purpose, and the stepped part formed when providing the radiator cooling air inlet or the license plate mounting recess can be used. Therefore, the design effect of the bumper is not impaired by the horizontal portion.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view showing the front of an automobile to which a front bumper as an embodiment of the present invention is attached, Fig. 2 is a front view of the front bumper, and Fig. 3 is the same as that of Fig. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the front bumper along line - - of FIG. 1; 1...Front bumper, 2...Head lamp,
10...Horizontal part, 11...Tool insertion hole, 14...
Optical axis adjustment screw, 16...Driver (tool), 18
...Concave portion, 20...Horizontal portion, 25...Tool insertion hole, 26...Optical axis adjustment screw.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Utility Model Registration Claim] In a front bumper of an automobile having a concave portion that is concave from the outer surface toward the inside of the vehicle body; a horizontal portion forming the upper surface of the concave portion is substantially opposed to an optical axis adjustment screw of a headlamp. A front bumper for an automobile, wherein an insertion hole into which a tool for rotating the optical axis adjustment screw can be inserted is formed at the inner end of the horizontal portion of the vehicle body.