WO2018077010A1

WO2018077010A1 - Bumper support

Info

Publication number: WO2018077010A1
Application number: PCT/CN2017/104583
Authority: WO
Inventors: Xiaogang GUI; Ming Zhang
Original assignee: Compagnie Plastic Omnium; Yanfeng Plastic Omnium Automotive Exterior Systems Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2016-10-25
Filing date: 2017-09-29
Publication date: 2018-05-03
Also published as: CN106494340A

Abstract

A bumper support (10) configured to be horizontally fixed to a front end or a rear end of an automobile comprises a first side wall (1) and a second side wall (2) that are spaced apart and extend vertically and downwardly when the bumper support (10) is mounted on the automobile and in normal use, and a top plate (3) that is connected with the first side wall (1) and the second side wall (2) respectively on their top, wherein the first side wall (1) is disposed adjacent to an inner space of the automobile and the second side wall (2) is disposed adjacent to a bumper skin (30), and the first side wall (1), the second side wall (2) and the top plate (3) together form an arched profile opened in a vertically downward direction so as to form a collapse space inside thereof. The bumper support (10) can prevented from being upturned during a collision, which otherwise will cause a trunk outer panel or a tailgate permanently deformed or damaged, and meanwhile meeting the requirements on static rigidity in the vertical direction.

Description

Bumper Support

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of automobiles, and more particularly to a bumper support.

Background

As automobiles are more popular and roads are getting increasingly crowded, it is very often to see automotive low speed crashes, so that users pay much more attention to maintenance cost of automobiles. RCAR is a standard developed by European Automobile Maintenance Research Committee, mainly used to assess maintenance costs of automobiles after a collision. Specifically, in RCAR tests, for a rear direct impact, the automobile is at a speed of 10Km /h； for a rear side impact, the automobile is at a speed of 15Km/h. Evaluation criteria: no permanent deformation or damage occurs in the area of sheet metal (including the trunk outer panel and the tailgate) . Therefore, the RCAR evaluation will directly affect consumers’decision on purchase.

Current structural designs of bumper supports mainly focus on low-chassis automobiles； however, those automobiles with higher chassis (such as SUV) will suffer from more problems in a collision. It is known from the prior art that a classic bumper support has a U-shaped profile towards the inner space of the automobile, which may cause the following problems: 1) a bumper support, being upturned or bulged during a collision, will in turn press a trunk outer panel or a tailgate, thus causing possible damage to the latter； 2) the requirements on static rigidity in the vertical direction cannot be met, i.e. the supporting force of the bumper support to the rear bumper skin in the vertical direction is not sufficient. Therefore, the existing design of bumper supports makes the maintenance costs of collided automobiles relatively high.

Summary of the Invention

The object of the present disclosure is to provide a bumper support, so as to solve the problems in the prior art that a bumper support, being upturned during a collision, will in turn cause a trunk outer panel or a tailgate permanently deformed or damaged and that the requirements on static rigidity in the vertical direction cannot be met.

To solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure adopts the following technical solutions:

a bumper support configured to be horizontally fixed to a front end or a rear end of an automobile, and comprising a first side wall and a second side wall that are spaced apart and extend vertically and downwardly, and a top plate that is connected with the first side wall and the second side wall respectively on their top, wherein the first side wall is disposed adjacent to an inner space of the automobile and the second side wall is disposed adjacent to a bumper skin, and the first side wall, the second side wall and the top plate together form an arched profile opened in a vertically downward direction so as to form a collapse space inside thereof.

The top plate is provided at its bottom with a plurality of lattice structures extending vertically and downwardly.

The lattice structure is formed of crossed ribs.

When the bumper support is subject to a collision from right ahead or right behind, the first side wall, the ribs on the top plate and the second side wall together provide a circular collapse trajectory.

The bumper support has a radian that gradually curves towards the inner space of the automobile to conform to the line of the automobile body from the middle portion of the bumper support in its lengthwise direction to the two ends thereof.

Preferably, the second side wall is provided with a plurality of notches.

Preferably, the ribs are at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to a horizontal forward direction.

The bumper support provided by the present disclosure, due to its special structural design, has the following advantages over the prior art:

First, rather than a U-shaped profile towards the inner space of an automobile as most bumper supports in the prior art have, the bumper support of the invention has an arched profile extending in a vertically downward direction. The bottom of the top plate of the arched profile is designed to have a lattice structure formed of crossed ribs such that the first side wall, the second side wall and the ribs form a collapse space inside thereof. When the bumper support is subject to a collision from right front or right behind, the first side wall, the ribs on the top plate and the second side wall will together provide a circular collapse trajectory such that the second side wall of the support contracts inwardly along the arched profile and would not be upturned, thereby avoiding further damage to the trunk outer panel and the tailgate and significantly reducing the maintenance costs of the automobile.

Second, the static rigidity of the bumper support in the area above the top plate is enhanced by the top plate, which connects the first side wall to the second side wall.

Third, the lattice structure on the top plate has two functions: on the one hand, it improves the support strength of the top plate in the vertical direction, that is, it satisfies the requirement on static rigidity of the bumper support in the area thereabove； on the other hand, it provides a sufficient energy-absorbing area for the bumper support in the horizontal direction, and when the bumper support is subject to a collision from right ahead or right behind, the lattice structure renders the support sufficiently “soft” for a horizontal impact and provides a buffering function by absorbing part of the impact energy so as to avoid damage to the trunk outer panel.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a rear view of an entire automobile structure；

Fig. 2A is a perspective view of a bumper support in its use state according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure；

Fig. 2B is a perspective view of the bumper support shown in Fig. 1A from another angle of view；

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the automobile shown in Fig. 1 taken along the line A-A；

Fig. 4 is an end view of an end of the bumper support shown in Fig. 2A； and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of a lattice structure of the bumper support shown in Fig. 2B.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

The present disclosure will be further explained with reference to specific embodiments. It should be understood that the following examples are merely intended to explain the invention, rather than limiting the scope of the invention.

According to a preferred embodiment, there is provided a bumper support 10 that can be installed respectively at front and rear ends of an automobile 100 for absorbing the energy resulting from collision of the automobile 100 and preventing people and the automobile from being damaged in a collision.

As shown in Fig. 1, the bumper support 10 is installed as a rear bumper support at the rear end of the automobile 100. The bumper support 10 is located outside of a trunk outer panel 20 and inside of a rear bumper skin 30 (as shown in Fig. 5) , and a tailgate 40 is located above the bumper support 10 and the rear bumper skin 30. As the bumper support 10 is covered by the rear bumper skin, the bumper support 10 is invisible in Fig. 1.

Figs. 2A and 2B illustrate respectively a view of the bumper support 10 in its use state and the view of the bumper support 10 upside down with its bottom facing upwards.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the bumper support 10 in Fig. 1 taken along the line A-A. With reference to Figs. 1 to 3, the bumper support 10 is installed at the rear end of the automobile in a substantially horizontal direction, and has a first side wall 1 and a second side wall 2 that are spaced apart and extend in a vertically downward direction, as well as a top plate 3 connected with the first side wall 1 and the second side wall 2 respectively on their top, wherein the first side wall 1 is arranged adjacent to the trunk outer panel 20, and the second side wall 2 is arranged adjacent to the bumper skin 30. The first side wall 1, the second side wall 2 and the top plate 3 together form an arched profile (as shown in Fig. 4) opened in a vertically downward direction so as to form a collapse space.

As shown in Figs. 2B and 3, the top plate 3 is further provided at its bottom with a plurality of lattice structures 4 extending vertically downwards. As shown in Fig. 5, the lattice structure is formed of crossed ribs 5, 5’that are at an angle, preferably an angle of 45 degrees, with respect to the horizontal forward direction.

As shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, the bumper support has a radian that gradually curves towards the inner space of the automobile to conform to the line of the automobile body from the middle portion of the bumper support in its lengthwise direction to the two ends thereof, such that the bumper support fittingly conforms to the shape of the automobile head and tail. The second side wall 2 is provided with a plurality of notches 6.

Upon installation, a gap of less than 2mm is preferably kept between the top plate 3 and a surface B of the bumper skin 30 in an area above the top plate, so as to further guarantee the requirement on static rigidity of the bumper support 10 in the area.

As shown in Fig. 3, when a test trolley 200 collides with the automobile 100 from behind (as indicated by the straight arrow B in Fig. 3) , the first side wall 1, the ribs 5 on the top plate 3 and the second side wall 2 together provide a circular collapse trajectory (as shown by a dotted circle in Fig. 3) , and the second side wall 2 deforms as indicated by the arc arrow C, namely, it contracts inwardly and cannot be upturned, which prevents the trunk outer panel 20 and the tailgate 40 from being further damaged and therefore greatly decreases the maintenance costs of automobiles.

The bumper support 10 according to the preferred embodiment, due to its special structural design, has the following prominent advantages over the prior art:

First, rather than a U-shaped profile towards the automobile body as most bumper supports in the prior art have, the bumper support 10 has an arched profile extending in a vertically downward direction. The bottom of the top plate 3 of the arched profile is designed to have a lattice structure 4 formed of crossed ribs 5 such that the first side wall 1, the second side wall 2 and the ribs 5 form a collapse space inside. When the bumper support 10 is subject to a collision from right front or right behind, the first side wall 1, the ribs 5 on the top plate 3 and the second side wall 2 together provide a circular collapse trajectory such that the second side wall of the support contracts inwardly along the arched profile and would not be upturned, thereby avoiding further damage to the trunk outer panel and the tailgate and significantly reducing the maintenance costs of the automobile.

Second, the static rigidity of the bumper support 10 in the area above the top plate is enhanced by the top plate 3, which connects the first side wall 1 to the second side wall 2.

Third, the lattice structure 4 on the top plate 3 has two functions: on the one hand, it improves the support strength of the top plate 3 in the vertical direction, that is, it satisfies the requirement on static rigidity of the bumper support 10 in the area thereabove； on the other hand, the lattice structure provides a sufficient energy-absorbing area for the bumper support 10 in the horizontal direction, and when the bumper support 10 is subject to a collision from right behind, the lattice structure 4 renders the bumper support 10 sufficiently “soft” for a horizontal impact and provides a buffering function by absorbing part of the impact energy so as to further avoid damage to the trunk outer panel 20.

The above contents are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Variations can be made to the above embodiments of the present invention. Any simple and equivalent variation and modification made according to the claims and description of the present invention fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention. Conventional techniques are not described in detail in the present invention.

Claims

A bumper support (10) configured to be horizontally fixed to a front end or a rear end of an automobile, wherein the bumper support (10) comprises a first side wall (1) and a second side wall (2) that are spaced apart and extend vertically and downwardly when the bumper support (10) is mounted on the automobile and in normal use, and a top plate (3) that is connected with the first side wall (1) and the second side wall (2) respectively on their top, wherein the first side wall (1) is disposed adjacent to an inner space of the automobile and the second side wall (2) is disposed adjacent to a bumper skin (30) , and the first side wall (1) , the second side wall (2) and the top plate (3) together form an arched profile opened in a vertically downward direction so as to form a collapse space inside thereof.
The bumper support (10) according to claim 1, wherein the top plate (3) is provided at its bottom with a plurality of lattice structures (4) extending vertically and downwardly.
The bumper support (10) according to claim 2, wherein the lattice structure (4) is formed of crossed ribs (5) .
The bumper support (10) according to claim 3, wherein the ribs are configured such that when the bumper support (10) is subject to a collision from right ahead or right behind, the first side wall (1) , the ribs (5) on the top plate (3) and the second side wall (2) together provide a circular collapse trajectory.
The bumper support (10) according to anyone of claims 1-4, wherein the bumper support (10) has a radian that gradually curves towards the inner space of the automobile to conform to a line of the automobile body from a middle portion of the bumper support (10) in its lengthwise direction to the two ends thereof.
The bumper support (10) according to anyone of claims 1-5, wherein the second side wall (2) is provided with a plurality of notches (6) .
The bumper support (10) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the ribs (5) are at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to a horizontal forward direction.
The bumper support (10) according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein upon installation, a gap of less than 2mm is kept between the top plate (3) and a surface of the bumper skin (30) in an area above the top plate (3) .
A bumper assembly comprising a bumper support (10) according to anyone of the preceding claims and a bumper skin (30) mounted to the bumper support (10) .
An automobile comprising a bumper assembly according to claim 9.