JP2001138949A - Side collision safety device in automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a safety device for protecting an automobile from a side collision. SOLUTION: The automobile is provided with an undercarriage structure formed in cage shape including a ladder-like frame formed by connecting base frames longitudinally extending with a lateral space, by horizontal frames arranged with longitudinal spaces, and an automobile body that covers the undercarriage structure. This side collision safety device in the automobile comprises a rigid safety structure body having a transverse frame passing through the automobile body in the cross direction of the automobile, near a seat, and a side bumper frame extending along the side part of the automobile body from the horizontal frame. The transverse frame is detachably fastened to the undercarriage structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a collision safety device for a motor vehicle, and more particularly, to a collision safety device for a vehicle such as a European vehicle which does not conform to the collision test safety standard enforced from April 1999, which is easily mounted. The present invention relates to a device which can be adapted to at least a side impact test in the safety standard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, sports cars, especially cigar type sports cars such as Lotus Super Seven (trademark) and Birkin Super Seven (trademark),
There is not always enough consideration for collision safety, and even bumpers are not provided, in pursuit of athletic performance.

However, a vehicle without such a bumper does not conform to the crash test safety standard enforced in Japan from April 1999.

[0004]

Therefore, it can be easily found that a bumper should be provided at a place where a crash test is performed in order to make the above-mentioned vehicle conform to the crash test safety standard. For example, a bumper separately formed by a metal pipe or the like may be attached to an appropriate position as needed.

However, according to what the inventor has learned, the cigar type sports car as described above uses a chassis (undercarriage structure) in which thin pipe frames are connected in a cage shape in order to reduce the weight. Therefore, the undercarriage structure itself is not sufficiently rigid, and even if an individually formed bumper is partially attached and fixed to the undercarriage structure, it is difficult to sufficiently secure the impact resistance of the bumper.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a collision safety device which can conform to at least a side collision test in safety standards.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a ladder-like frame formed by connecting a base frame extending in the front-rear direction with a space between the left and right sides by a horizontal frame arranged with a space between the front and the back. In a motor vehicle including a car body structure including a car body and a car body covering the car body structure, a lateral frame that penetrates the car body in the width direction of the automobile in the vicinity of a seat, and the lateral frame A rigid safety structure having a side bumper frame extending from the vehicle body to the side of the vehicle body is provided, and the lateral frame is detachably fixed to a chassis structure. Side collision safety device.

The safety structure is preferably constituted by a pair of horizontal frames arranged at an interval in the front and rear, and a substantially gate-shaped side bumper frame interconnecting the ends of the pair of horizontal frames. In this case, since the side bumper frames on both sides are connected by a pair of lateral frames penetrating the vehicle body, the safety structure as a whole forms a rigid body and can withstand a side collision. Then, the safety structure and the chassis structure are integrated with each other by removably fixing the pair of horizontal frames to the horizontal frame of the ladder-like frame in the chassis structure, thereby increasing the rigidity as a whole.

The safety structure is divided in the width direction of the vehicle, and the divided ends are detachably fixed to each other.
Therefore, the operation of attaching or detaching the safety structure to or from the automobile is easy, even though the rigidity is increased by penetrating the car body.

Further, the safety structure preferably includes a reinforcing frame for connecting the side bumper frames to each other, so that even when the side bumper frame is configured to be bent from the laterally oriented frame and stand upright, the side bumper frame can be provided. The structure is suitable for withstanding a side collision. At this time, the reinforcing frame is divided in the width direction of the automobile, and the divided ends are detachably fixed to each other, thereby allowing the reinforcing frame to penetrate the vehicle body, thereby forming the safety structure including the reinforcing frame. Installation or removal work with respect to the vehicle is facilitated.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a cigar type sports car as an example of an automobile. The present invention is mainly intended to be applied to such a sports car, but it is not necessarily limited to this. I want to be appreciated. Therefore, an automobile to which the present invention is applied includes a basket-shaped undercarriage structure C that forms a chassis, and a car body B that covers the undercarriage structure C.

As shown in FIG. 2, the undercarriage structure C includes base frames 1, 1 extending in the front-rear direction with an interval left and right.
And a ladder frame 3 including at least one pair of horizontal frames 2, which connect the base frames 1, 1 in an intersecting manner and are arranged at an interval in the front-rear direction. . In the case of the illustrated example, such a cage-like structure includes side frames 4 and 4 arranged above the base frames 1 and 1, vertical beams 5 that connect the side frames 4 and the base frame 1 in an intersecting manner, , Are achieved by various frames such as cross beams 6 interconnecting the side frames 4, 4,
Since the specific structure is not the object of the present invention, details are omitted.

An automobile A of the two-seater type illustrated in FIG.
Are protected on both sides by the side bumper frame 9 near the seat portion S by the safety device 7 of the present invention.
As can be understood by comparing FIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of horizontal frames 2, 2 in the chassis structure C are positioned at the feet of the driver while the driver is seated on the seat portion S. Therefore, the safety device 7 interconnects the pair of lateral frames 8, 8 penetrating the vehicle body B in the width direction of the automobile A near the seat portion S, and the ends of the pair of lateral frames 8, 8 to each other. And a substantially gate-shaped side bumper frame 9 that is bent and raised.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the pair of horizontal frames 8, 8 is divided into three in the axial direction.
A main frame 8a located at the center, and a connecting frame 8 located at both ends and integrated with a side bumper frame 9;
b, 8b, and a detachable connecting means 10 is provided at each divided end. Therefore, the ends of the connecting frames 8b, 8b can be detachably fixed to both ends of the main frame 8a by the connecting means 10.
In the case of the illustrated example, the main frame 8a of the pair of horizontal frames 8, 8 is attached to the horizontal frames 2, 2 of the chassis structure C in a state where the main frames 8a are removably attached to the horizontal frames 2, 2. 11 is provided. Such an attaching means 11 can be constituted by a bracket 12 welded and fixed to the connecting frames 8a, 8a as shown in the figure, but various other means can be adopted. In the case of the example in which the bracket is provided, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5C,
With the bracket 12 placed on the horizontal frames 2, the bracket 12 and the horizontal frame 2 are fastened by bolts 23 and nuts 24.

A pair of left and right side bumper frames 9 and 9
As shown in FIG. 3, the upright portions 9a, 9a which are erected upwardly from the connecting frame 8b, and the upright portions 9a.
a, and a horizontal bar 9b connecting the upper ends of 9a.

In a preferred embodiment, the safety device 7 comprises
Further, the side bars 9 of the pair of side bumper frames 9
b and 9b are provided with a reinforcing frame 13 for interconnecting them. The reinforcing frame 13 is divided into three parts in the axial direction, and forms a main frame 13a located at the center and connecting frames 13b, 13b located at both ends and integrated with the horizontal bar 9b of the side bumper frame 9. A detachable connecting means 14 is provided at each of the divided ends.

When mounting the safety device 7 having the above-described structure to the automobile A, the main frames 8a of the pair of horizontal frames 8, 8 are fitted along the horizontal frames 2, 2 in the chassis structure C, as shown in FIG. The mounting means 11 is fixed to the horizontal frames 2, 2. As mentioned above, in the case of the figure,
As shown in FIG. 5C, the bracket 12 and the horizontal frame 2 are fastened by bolts 23 and nuts 24 with the bracket 12 placed on the horizontal frames 2, 2.

Thereafter, each of the connecting frames 8b integrated with the side bumper frames 9, 9 is inserted into an insertion hole (not shown) formed in the vehicle body B from the left and right, and the ends of the connecting frames 8b are connected. It is fixed to the end of the main frame 8a via the means 10. At this time, the car body B
In a state where the main frame 13a of the reinforcing frame 13 is inserted through the insertion hole (not shown) formed in the side bumper frame 9, the connection frame 13b integrated with the side bumper frames 9, 9 is provided.
13b is connected to the main frame 1 via the connecting means 14.
3a.

Thus, the safety device 7 shown in FIG.
Is completed. By the way, when the sports car is to be driven on a circuit, the connection frame 8 is released by releasing the connection of the connection means 10 and 14.
A pair of side bumper frames 9, 9 in which b, 8b, and 13b are integrated are removed from the vehicle A, and the main frame 13a of the reinforcing frame 13 is removed from the vehicle body B. At this time, the main frames 8a, 8a of the horizontal frames 8, 8 remain mounted on the horizontal frames 2, 2, but do not protrude outside the vehicle body B, so that the circuit can run freely on the circuit. If it is necessary to reduce the weight of the vehicle as much as possible during a time trial or the like, the fixing of the mounting means 11 is further released,
The remaining main frames 8a, 8a are
Remove it from 2. This removal operation can be performed from the underside of the undercarriage structure C, so that it can be easily and easily performed if the vehicle is lifted up.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show specific examples of the above-mentioned connecting means 10 and 14. FIG.

In the specific example of FIG. 5A, one of the divided ends of the divided main frames 8a, 13a and the connecting frames 8b, 13b is provided with an insertion piece 15 and the other is fitted with the insertion piece 15. A receiving hole 16 is provided, and a bolt 19 is inserted into diametric holes 17 and 18 that match each other, and a nut 20 is fastened in a state where the insertion piece 15 is fitted into the receiving hole 16.

In the specific example of FIG. 5B, a flange plate 21 is fixed to both the divided main frames 8a and 13a and the divided ends of the connection frames 8b and 13b by welding or the like. And bolts and nuts (not shown) are fastened to the holes 22 that match each other in a state where the hands are held together.

According to the configuration of the above embodiment, the safety device 7 is provided with the lateral frames 8, 8 penetrating the vehicle body B in the width direction of the automobile A, and the lateral frames 8, 8 are attached to the chassis structure C. , The chassis structure C itself can be reinforced, the mounting rigidity of the side bumper frames 9, 9 is high, and high safety against side collisions is guaranteed.

In particular, when the individually formed bumpers are partially attached and fixed to the undercarriage structure, the bumpers themselves are fragile at the time of a side collision, and are severely damaged or fall off from the undercarriage structure. According to the safety device 7 of the present invention, a rigid truss structure is constituted by the entirety of the horizontal frames 8, 8, the side bumper frames 9, 9, and the reinforcing frame 13, and such a rigid truss structure is provided. Since the side bumper frames 9 and 9 are provided as a part of the structure, the impact in the event of a side collision is not absorbed by the side bumper frame 9 alone, but is dispersed throughout the rigid truss structure, and the overall impact is absorbed. Then, it is supported by the transverse frames 8 and 8 and the reinforcing frame 13 provided in the vehicle width direction so as to oppose the side collision. For this reason,
The safety device 7 is extremely excellent in securing safety as a whole without depending on the strength of the chassis structure C, and furthermore, damage to the chassis structure C can be minimized.

Moreover, if the safety device 7 of the present invention is mounted on a cigar type sports car having a chassis structure formed of a thin pipe frame chassis as described above, the fragile chassis structure C is suitably reinforced, and It is possible to contribute to rigidity, and furthermore, the seat portion S without a door can be suitably protected by the side bumper frames 9, 9, and the side bumper frames 9, 9 can be used as steps instead of steps when getting on and off. is there.

Further, the safety device 7 is divided in the width direction as described above, and the divided ends are detachably fixed to each other, so that the lateral frames 8, 8 are passed through the vehicle body B. However, the work of attaching and detaching is easy and, for example, when a sports car is driven on a circuit, it can be easily removed. At this time, the safety device 7 is connected to 3 as in the above embodiment.
If divided, only the main frames 8a, 8a of the horizontal frames 8, 8 are left in the chassis structure C, and other frame parts including the side bumper frames 9, 9 are easily removed and removed from the automobile A. In this case, the remaining mainframe 8
Since a and 8a strengthen the horizontal frames 2 and 2 of the chassis structure C, the torsional rigidity of the chassis structure C is increased. If further weight reduction is desired, the main frame 8
The a and 8a can be easily removed and removed, and the removal operation and the reattachment operation can be easily and easily performed on the horizontal frames 2 and 2 from under the chassis structure C.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and that the design can be freely changed without departing from the spirit described in the claims. For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which the lateral frames 8, 8 and the reinforcing frame 13 are divided into three in the width direction of the automobile has been described. In this case, the pair of left and right side bumper frames 9, 9 is divided into two horizontal frames 8,
8 and the half of the reinforcing frame 13 are integrated, so that after inserting the transverse frames 8, 8 and the half of the reinforcing frame 13 through the hole of the car body B, the divided ends are formed at the center of the chassis structure C. Butts are fixed to each other by the above-mentioned connecting means so that they can be detachably fixed, and the assembled horizontal frames 8, 8 can be detachably attached to the horizontal frames 2, 2 by the above-mentioned attaching means 11. .

Further, the attaching means 11 and the connecting means 10, 14
Also, in addition to the above embodiment, various configurations can be adopted, and the shapes of the lateral frames 8, 8 and the side bumper frames 9, 9 constituting the safety device 7 can be freely changed. Further, in addition to the safety device 7 for side collision, a front bumper may be provided on the front surface of the front grill G of the automobile A, or a rear bumper may be provided on the rear surface of the rear trunk to further improve safety. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one example of a cigar type sports car to which a collision safety device of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a chassis structure in a cigar type sports car to which the collision safety device of the present invention is attached.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an exploded state of one embodiment of the collision safety device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an attached state of the embodiment of the collision safety device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows details of the collision safety device of the present invention;
(A) is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the connecting means, (B) is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the connecting means, and (C) is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the attaching means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Base frame 2 Horizontal frame 3 Ladder frame 7 Safety device 8 Horizontal frame 8a Main frame 8b Connection frame 9 Side bumper frame 9a Standing part 9b Horizontal bar 10 Connection means 11 Mounting means 13 Reinforcement frame 13a Main frame 13b Connection frame 14 Connection Means A Automobile B Car body C Chassis structure D Seat part

Claims (4)

[Claims] An undercarriage structure formed in a cage shape including a ladder-like frame formed by connecting base frames extending in the front-rear direction at right and left intervals with horizontal frames arranged at a front-rear interval. A vehicle having a vehicle body covering the chassis structure, a lateral frame penetrating the vehicle body in the width direction of the vehicle in the vicinity of a seat, and a side bumper extending from the lateral frame to a side portion of the vehicle body. A side collision safety device for an automobile, comprising a rigid safety structure having a frame, wherein the lateral frame is detachably fixed to a chassis structure. 2. A safety structure is constituted by a pair of horizontal frames arranged at an interval in the front and rear, and a substantially gate-shaped side bumper frame interconnecting the ends of the pair of horizontal frames. The side collision safety device for an automobile according to claim 1, wherein the frame is detachably fixed to a horizontal frame of a ladder-like frame in a chassis structure. 3. The side collision safety in a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the safety structure is divided in a width direction of the vehicle, and the divided ends are detachably fixed to each other. apparatus. 4. A reinforcing frame for connecting side bumper frames to each other, wherein the reinforcing frame is divided in a width direction of the vehicle, and the divided ends are detachably fixed to each other. 4. The side collision safety device for an automobile according to 1, 2, or 3.