WO2023189865A1

WO2023189865A1 - Vehicle rear structure

Info

Publication number: WO2023189865A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/011035
Authority: WO
Inventors: 友幸大江; 健夫水口; 秀喜土佐
Original assignee: 三菱自動車工業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-03-29
Filing date: 2023-03-20
Publication date: 2023-10-05

Abstract

Provided to rear bumper reinforcement (24) is a reinforcing plate (26) that has a length along the direction in which the rear bumper reinforcement (24) extends, a thickness along the front-back direction of the vehicle, and a width along the vertical direction. The width of the reinforcing plate (26) in the vertical direction is greater than the width of the rear bumper reinforcement (24) in the vertical direction. Thus, it is possible to increase the strength and rigidity of the rear bumper reinforcement (24) with the reinforcing plate (26), despite the rear bumper reinforcement (24) being formed such that the thickness thereof along the vertical direction is a small dimension, in order for the rear bumper reinforcement (24) to also serve as a step.

Description

Vehicle rear structure

The present invention relates to a rear structure of a vehicle.

In order to protect the rear part of the vehicle in the event of a rear-end collision, a vehicle rear structure has been proposed in which a beam extending in the vehicle width direction is connected to the rear ends of a pair of side frames via brackets (see Patent Document 1).
In this structure, the bracket and the beam are connected by a fuse bolt that breaks when a predetermined load is exceeded.In the event of a rear-end collision, the other vehicle collides with the beam and the fuse bolt breaks, causing the beam to descend and cause the beam to fall. Prevents infiltration.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-131449

By the way, when the bumper reinforcement placed at the rear end of the vehicle is also used as a foot step, the height of the upper surface of the bumper reinforcement should be the optimal height for placing the feet, and the lower surface of the bumper reinforcement should be must be high enough to ensure a sufficient departure angle. Departure angle is the angle between the ground and an imaginary line connecting the rear end of the vehicle and the point where the rear wheels touch the ground, and is a measure of the vehicle's ability to overcome uneven ground.
Therefore, in a vehicle in which the bumper reinforcement is also used as a foot step, the vertical thickness of the bumper reinforcement is restricted to a relatively small dimension in order to satisfy the above conditions. Therefore, in the event of a rear-end collision, the other vehicle is likely to enter the center of the own vehicle, and some kind of improvement is required to protect the rear of the vehicle.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a rear structure of a vehicle that is advantageous in protecting the rear of the vehicle in the event of a rear collision in a vehicle in which a bumper reinforcement is also used as a foot step. The purpose is to

In order to achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present invention includes a pair of arms that extend toward the rear of the vehicle from the rear ends of a pair of side frames, and a pair of arms that extend in the vehicle width direction. A rear bumper structure for a vehicle comprising: a rear bumper structure that is connected to the rear bumper structure and whose upper surface functions as a step on which a foot is placed; A plate-shaped reinforcement plate extending along the rear bumper reinforcement is joined to the rear bumper reinforcement, and the width of the reinforcement plate in the vehicle vertical direction is larger than the width of the rear bumper reinforcement in the vehicle vertical direction. It is characterized by

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in a vehicle in which the rear bumper reinforcement is also used as a footrest, the load input from the rear of the vehicle during a rear collision can be reliably absorbed by the rear bumper reinforcement reinforced by the reinforcement plate. This is advantageous in suppressing deformation of the rear part of the vehicle and protecting the rear part of the vehicle. In addition, the vertical width of the reinforcing plate is larger than the vertical width of the rear bumper reinforcement, which prevents the front of the other vehicle from sliding into the rear of the vehicle in the event of a rear-end collision. This is advantageous in terms of protecting the rear part of the vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the rear structure of the vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the rear structure of the vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a rear bumper reinforcement, a reinforcing plate, and an arm are assembled. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a bead provided on a reinforcing plate and a stopper provided on an arm in a second embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the bead provided in the reinforcement plate and the stopper provided in the arm in 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the rear part of a vehicle to which the vehicle rear structure according to the embodiment is applied.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a rear structure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the drawings below, the symbol FR indicates the front of the vehicle, the symbol UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, the symbol IN indicates the inside in the vehicle width direction, and OUT indicates the outside in the vehicle width direction.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a pickup truck 10 is a vehicle to which the vehicle rear structure of this embodiment is applied.
The pickup truck 10 is a frame vehicle in which a cabin 14 and a cargo box 16 are mounted on a ladder frame 12. The ladder frame 12 includes a pair of side frames 18 and a plurality of cross members 20 that connect the pair of side frames 18.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rear structure of the vehicle according to the present embodiment includes a rear bumper structure formed by a pair of arms 22 and a rear bumper reinforcement 24, and a reinforcing plate 26.
The pair of arms 22 are made of steel and are provided to extend toward the rear of the vehicle from the rear ends of the pair of side frames 18, respectively.
Each arm 22 includes a vertical plate portion 2202 extending obliquely in the vehicle vertical direction and rearward of the vehicle, and a pair of flange portions 2204 bent outward in the vehicle width direction from both ends of the vertical plate portion 2202. It is configured. The pair of flange portions 2204 extend over the entire length of the vertical plate portion 2202.
The upper ends of the vertical plate portions 2202 are attached to the outer surfaces of the pair of side frames 18 with bolts.
As shown in FIG. 2, the vertical plate portion 2202 is formed such that the vertical width of the vertical plate portion 2202 gradually decreases toward the rear of the vehicle.
Holes 2206 are formed through the vertical plate portion 2202 at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the extending direction. The portion through which the hole 2206 is formed constitutes a deformation inducing portion 23 that is more likely to deform than other portions in the event of a rear collision.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the rear bumper reinforcement 24 functions as a member that absorbs the load applied during a rear collision, and at the same time, its upper surface functions as a step on which to place your feet when getting on and off the cargo box 16. It is.
The rear bumper reinforcement 24 is arranged to extend in the vehicle width direction and connect the pair of arms 22.
The rear bumper reinforcement 24 is made of steel, has a front wall 2402 and a rear wall 2404 that face each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and an upper wall 2406 and a lower wall 2408 that face each other in the vertical direction, and has a hollow rectangular cross section. It is formed.
The height of the upper wall 2406 of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 is set so that it is the optimum height for placing feet. Furthermore, the height of the lower wall 2408 of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 is set in order to ensure a departure angle. Further, the width in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (the distance between the front wall 2402 and the rear wall 2404) is set in consideration of the strength, rigidity, etc. of the rear bumper reinforcement 24. In this embodiment, the width in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is larger than the width in the vertical direction of the vehicle.
In the present embodiment, the rear bumper reinforcement 24 has both sides 24A in the vehicle width direction, and a central part 24B that is lower in height than the both sides 24A and functions as a step.
Both side parts 24A of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 are placed on the flange part 2204 above the rear end of the arm 22, and are joined to the flange part 2204 by welding.

As shown in FIG. 3, the reinforcing plate 26 is a plate-shaped member that reinforces the rear bumper reinforcement 24, and is made of sheet metal.
The reinforcing plate 26 extends in the vehicle width direction over substantially the entire length between the pair of arms 22.
The reinforcing plate 26 includes a main body plate part 2602 that extends in the vehicle vertical direction while being attached to the rear bumper reinforcement 24, and a bent plate part 2604 that projects from the upper end of the main body plate part 2602 toward the rear of the vehicle. ing.
The lower end of the main body plate portion 2602 is located below the rear bumper reinforcement 24, as shown in FIG. The upper end of the main body plate portion 2602 is located at the same height as the upper wall 2406 of the rear bumper reinforcement 24, as shown in FIG.
The bent plate portion 2604 includes a central bent plate portion 2604A provided at the center portion 24B of the main body plate portion 2602 in the vehicle width direction and located above the center portion 24B of the rear bumper reinforcement 24, and a center bent plate portion 2604A provided in the center portion 24B of the main body plate portion 2602 in the vehicle width direction. and end bent plate portions 2604B located above both side portions 24A of the rear bumper reinforcement 24. The central bent plate portion 2604A and the pair of end bent plate portions 2604B are joined to the upper wall 2406 of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 by welding.
Therefore, in this embodiment, the width of the reinforcing plate 26 in the vehicle vertical direction is larger than the width of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, beads 2606 that are convex toward the front of the vehicle and extend in the vertical direction are formed at multiple locations spaced apart in the vehicle width direction on the main body plate portion 2602.
The upper part of the bead 2606 overlaps with the front wall 2402 of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 when viewed from the vehicle longitudinal direction.
As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 is an imaginary line connecting the rear end of the rear bumper structure (in this embodiment, the lower end of the rear end of the arm 22) and the point where the rear wheel 28 touches the ground 30. It is located above the line L, that is, so as to overlap the virtual line L, or is located above the virtual line L.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a synthetic resin bumper cover 32 as a design component is provided from above the rear bumper reinforcement 24 and the reinforcing plate 26, and the rear bumper reinforcement 24 and the reinforcing plate 26 are connected to each other by the bumper cover 32. covered.

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be explained.
According to this embodiment, the vertical width of the reinforcing plate 26 attached to the rear bumper reinforcement 24 is larger than the vertical width of the rear bumper reinforcement 24.
Therefore, even though the rear bumper reinforcement 24 is formed with a small vertical width because it also serves as a step, the reinforcing plate 26 can catch the other vehicle in the event of a rear collision. can be protected.

Furthermore, since the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 is located below the rear bumper reinforcement 24, it is possible to suppress the other vehicle from sneaking into the own vehicle in the event of a rear collision.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 is located below an imaginary line L connecting the lower end of the rear bumper structure, in this embodiment the rear end of the arm 22, and the point where the rear wheel 28 touches the ground 30. , the departure angle θ is the angle that the imaginary line L' connecting the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 and the point where the rear wheel 28 touches the ground 30 makes with the ground 30, so the effect of securing the departure angle θ is decreases.
In this embodiment, the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 is located above the imaginary line L.
Therefore, while ensuring the vertical width of the reinforcing plate 26, the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 is positioned below the imaginary line L connecting the rear end of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 and the point where the rear wheel 28 touches the ground 30. By fixing it so that it does not protrude, a large departure angle θ can be ensured, which is advantageous in improving the running performance of the vehicle on rough roads with large irregularities.

Further, a reinforcing plate 26 is joined to the front end of the rear bumper reinforcement 24 of the vehicle.
Therefore, compared to the case where the reinforcing plate 26 is joined to the vehicle rear end of the rear bumper reinforcement 24, the lower end of the reinforcing plate 26 can be positioned below the vehicle while ensuring the departure angle θ.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since each arm 22 is provided with a deformation inducing section 23, the load can be controlled by deforming each arm 22 in the event of a rear collision, thereby suppressing deformation of the rear part of the side frame 18. This is advantageous in terms of protecting the rear part of the vehicle.

In addition, in this embodiment, the reinforcing plate 26 is formed with beads 2606 extending in the vertical direction at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, and the beads 2606 are formed as rear bumper reinforcements when viewed from the vehicle longitudinal direction. It overlaps with 24.
Therefore, the reinforcing plate 26 is reinforced by the plurality of beads 2606, and when the reinforcing plate 26 tries to deform during a rear collision, the load input to the reinforcing plate is transferred to the rear bumper reinforcement through the plurality of beads 2606. 24, which is advantageous in enhancing the reinforcing effect of the reinforcing plate 26.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the following description, the same parts and members as in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified, and points different from the first embodiment will be mainly explained. .
In the second embodiment, beads 2606 at both ends of the reinforcing plate 26 in the vehicle width direction are added to the rear structure of the vehicle in the first embodiment when the rear bumper reinforcement 24 is deformed toward the front of the vehicle during a rear collision. A stopper 34A that comes into contact with (a pair of end beads) is provided on the inner surface in the vehicle width direction of the vertical plate portion 2202 of the arm 22.
Specifically, the bead 2606 includes a first wall portion 2606A that stands up from the front surface of the main body plate portion 2602 facing the front of the vehicle toward the front of the vehicle, and a first wall portion 2606A that extends from the first wall portion 2606A in the vehicle vertical direction and the vehicle width direction and extends toward the vehicle front. It has a second wall portion 2606B facing toward the second wall portion 2606B, and a ridge line 2608 that is a boundary between the first wall portion 2606A and the second wall portion 2606B. Of these ridgelines 2608, a pair of portions extending linearly in the vertical direction that are spaced apart in the vehicle width direction are defined as a pair of ridgeline portions 2610.
The stopper 34A extends inward in the vehicle width direction from the inner surface in the vehicle width direction of the vertical plate portion 2202 of the arm 22 so as to straddle the pair of ridgeline portions 2610 and face the bead 2606. That is, the stopper 34A overlaps with the bead 2606 when viewed from the front-rear direction of the vehicle.
According to the second embodiment, when the reinforcing plate 26 is about to deform during a rear collision, the bead 2606 comes into contact with the stopper 34A, which is advantageous in suppressing the deformation of the reinforcing plate 26. Become.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
The third embodiment is a modification of the second embodiment.
In the third embodiment, bent pieces 2612 are provided at both ends of the reinforcing plate 26 in the vehicle width direction in the rear structure of the vehicle of the second embodiment.
Specifically, the bent piece 2612 is provided by bending both ends of the main body plate portion 2602 of the reinforcing plate 26 in the vehicle width direction toward the front of the vehicle. The bent piece 2612 extends over almost the entire length of the vertical width of the main body plate portion 2602.
The front end of the bent piece 2612 and the ridgeline portions 2610 of the bead 2606 located at both ends of the reinforcing plate 26 in the vehicle width direction are located at the same position in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The stopper 34B is provided so as to overlap the ridgeline portion 2610 and the bent piece 2612 located on the outside in the vehicle width direction when viewed from the vehicle vertical direction. Specifically, the inner end of the stopper 34B in the vehicle width direction is located between the ridgeline portion 2610 located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction and the ridgeline portion 2610 located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction.
Then, the stopper 34B comes into contact with the ridgeline portion 2610 and the bent piece 2612 located on the outside in the vehicle width direction at the time of a rear collision. The third embodiment is advantageous in making the stopper 34B smaller and lighter than the second embodiment.
The third embodiment also provides the same effects as the second embodiment.

Although the present embodiment describes the case where the vehicle is the pickup truck 10, the present invention is of course applicable to vehicles other than the pickup truck 10.

Although various embodiments have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that those skilled in the art can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, and these naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood. Further, each of the constituent elements in the above embodiments may be arbitrarily combined without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Note that this application is based on a Japanese patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-053616) filed on March 29, 2022, and the contents thereof are incorporated as a reference in this application.

10 Pickup truck (vehicle)
12 Ladder frame 14 Cabin 16 Cargo box 18 Side frame 20 Cross member 22 Arm 2202 Vertical plate part 2204 Flange part 2206 Hole 23 Deformation inducing part 24 Rear bumper reinforcement 2402 Front wall 2404 Rear wall 2406 Upper wall 2408 Lower wall 24A Both sides 24B Central part 26 Reinforcement plate 2602 Main body plate part 2604 Bend plate part 2604A Central bend plate part 2604B End bend plate part 2606 Bead 2606A First wall part 2606B Second wall part 2608 Ridge line 2610 Ridge line part 2612 Bend piece 28 Rear wheel 30 Ground 32

Bumper cover

34A, 34B stopper L, L' Virtual line θ Departure angle

Claims

A pair of arms each extending toward the rear of the vehicle from the rear ends of the pair of side frames, and a rear bumper reinforcement that extends in the vehicle width direction to connect the pair of arms, and whose upper surface functions as a step on which to place your feet. A rear structure of a vehicle comprising a rear bumper structure formed by,
A plate-shaped reinforcing plate extending along the extending direction of the rear bumper reinforcement and the vertical direction of the vehicle is joined to the rear bumper reinforcement,
The width of the reinforcing plate in the vehicle vertical direction is larger than the width of the rear bumper reinforcement in the vehicle vertical direction.
A rear structure of a vehicle characterized by:
The lower end of the reinforcing plate protrudes below the rear bumper reinforcement.
The vehicle rear structure according to claim 1, characterized in that:
The lower end of the reinforcing plate is located above an imaginary line connecting the lower end of the rear end of the rear bumper structure and the point where the rear wheel contacts the ground.
The vehicle rear structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:
The reinforcing plate is joined to the vehicle front end of the rear bumper reinforcement,
The vehicle rear structure according to claim 3, characterized in that:
a deformation inducing section is provided in the pair of arms;
The vehicle rear structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that:
The reinforcing plate has beads extending in the vertical direction formed at a plurality of locations spaced apart in the vehicle width direction,
At least a portion of the bead overlaps the rear bumper reinforcement in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle;
The vehicle rear structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The beads include a pair of end beads that protrude toward the front of the vehicle and are provided at both ends of the reinforcing plate in the vehicle width direction,
The arm is provided with a stopper that extends in the vehicle width direction and faces the pair of end beads.
The vehicle rear structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: