JP2009179136A - Vehicle front bumper device - Google Patents

Abstract

Even when a clearance between an impact absorbing member provided on a front bumper and a member disposed below the impact absorbing member is small, contact between both members is prevented and occurrence of an uncrushed impact absorbing member is suppressed.
A vehicle is provided with a bumper beam 21 extending in the vehicle width direction, a bumper face 12 installed in front of the bumper beam at a predetermined interval, and an impact absorbing member 23 formed on the front side of the bumper beam. In the front bumper device 2, the shock absorbing member 23 has a front wall 31 and a lower wall 33 extending rearward from the lower end of the front wall, and the lower wall of the shock absorbing member is in a lateral longitudinal section. In addition, it is configured to have an upward convex shape and at least two easily bent portions 43 and 44 extending in the left-right direction, and appropriately control deformation of the impact absorbing member at the time of collision.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle front bumper device that improves the safety of a pedestrian during a collision.

  In recent passenger cars, a structure in which a structure for reducing the impact of a collision object (including a pedestrian) from a vehicle body at the time of a collision is adopted for a bumper, a bonnet, a fender, and the like. In particular, in the front bumper that makes contact with the object to be collided first, the bumper beam is covered with a bumper face. Absorbing technology has been developed.

  As a conventional technique for providing an impact absorbing member on a front bumper, for example, an impact absorbing member installed at a required distance from an outer end surface of a bumper beam is provided with a contact wall portion that receives an impact from a collision object at the time of a collision, and a bumper beam. A hollow structure having a supporting wall portion extending from the abutting mounting wall portion and supporting the abutting wall portion from the back side, and the supporting wall portion is curved in a region of a required width continuous to the mounting wall portion. There is a front bumper having a curved support wall extending along the mounting wall portion (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-114864 A

  According to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when an impact from a collision target object at the time of a collision is applied to the contact wall portion, the curved support wall is deformed in the bending direction, and the support wall portion is smoothly bent and deformed. Thus, the impact absorbing member is appropriately crushed to absorb the impact. In this case, the shock absorbing member is crushed so that its outer periphery expands in the vertical direction. Therefore, the shock absorbing member crushes the clearance with members (for example, bumper faces) disposed above and below the shock absorbing member. Even if it is done, it is necessary to set in advance so as not to contact those members.

  However, for example, in a front bumper in which an air intake is provided in the center of the bumper face, it is difficult to secure a sufficient space for arranging the shock absorbing member, and the shock absorbing member and the upper wall of the air intake The clearance may not be set properly. That is, when the conventional technology described in Patent Document 1 is applied to such a front bumper, the lower part of the shock absorbing member deformed at the time of crushing interferes with the upper wall of the air intake, and the crushing is caused. There was a possibility that the crushing residue may occur due to inhibition. Therefore, in the prior art, there is a problem that an effective stroke in the front-rear direction for absorbing the shock must be excessively taken into consideration in consideration of the remaining crush of the shock absorbing member.

  The present invention has been devised in view of the problems of the prior art, and even when the clearance between the shock absorbing member formed on the front surface of the bumper beam and the member disposed below the shock absorbing member is small, the shock absorbing member is devised. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular front bumper device that is capable of suppressing the occurrence of uncrushed members.

  A first invention made to solve the above problems includes a bumper beam (21) attached to the front portion of the vehicle body (1) and extending in the vehicle width direction, and a predetermined position with respect to the bumper beam in front of the bumper beam. And a bumper face (12) having a central flat portion that is flat in the vehicle width direction and a left and right inclined portion that extends obliquely from the left and right ends of the central flat portion, and on the front side of the bumper beam A vehicle front bumper device (22) formed and provided with an impact absorbing member (23) facing the central flat portion, wherein the impact absorbing member includes a front wall (31) and a lower end of the front wall. A lower wall (33) extending rearward from the rear, and the lower wall of the shock absorbing member has a convex shape toward the upper side and extends in the left-right direction in a lateral longitudinal section. Easy bends ( Configured to have a 3,44).

  The second invention made to solve the above-described problems is that the lower wall has a first easily bent portion (43) provided on the front wall side and a second easily bent portion provided on the bumper beam side. (44), and the length between the lower end of the front wall and the first easily bent portion is smaller than the length between the first easily bent portion and the second easily bent portion. It can be.

  According to a third aspect of the invention made to solve the above-described problem, the front wall of the shock absorbing member can have a higher rigidity than the upper wall and the lower wall.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, the shock absorbing member has an upper frame (61) that forms the upper wall side and a lower frame (62) that forms the lower wall side. The front wall of the shock absorbing member may be formed by overlapping a part of the upper frame and the lower frame in the front-rear direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when the clearance between the shock absorbing member formed on the front surface of the bumper beam and the member disposed below the bumper beam is small, the deformation at the time of collision of the shock absorbing member is appropriately controlled. By preventing the contact of the members, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the remaining collapse of the shock absorbing member. According to the second invention, the lower end of the front wall does not move downward from the initial position before the deformation when the shock absorbing member is deformed, and the lower end of the front wall and the member disposed below the lower end. Can be prevented. Further, according to the third aspect, transmission of the input load due to the collision to the easily bent portion is facilitated. According to the fourth invention, the rigidity of the front wall of the shock absorbing member can be increased with a simple configuration.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description, the terms “front”, “rear”, “upper”, “lower” and the like indicating directions refer to directions based on the body of an automobile unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a front part of an automobile provided with a vehicle front bumper according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the front bumper at the center in the vehicle width direction, and FIG. 3 is a bumper beam. It is a schematic perspective view of the shock absorption frame formed on the front surface thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body 1 of the present embodiment employs a monocoque structure by steel plate panel welding assembly, the front part of which is a front bumper 2, left and right fender panels 3, 4, an engine hood 5, Covered with front garnish 6 and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the front bumper 2 is attached to the front part of the vehicle body and is installed at a predetermined interval in front of the bumper beam assembly 11 extending in the vehicle width direction so as to cover the bumper beam assembly 11. Bumper face 12.

  The bumper beam assembly 11 is a steel plate welded product. As shown in FIG. 3, the bumper beam 21 extending in the vehicle width direction, the left and right bumper stays 22 joined to the left and right rear surfaces of the bumper beam 21, and the front of the bumper beam It has an impact absorbing frame 23 joined to the wall 21a side.

  The bumper beam 21 is a press-formed product made of a relatively thick steel plate and has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape. The left and right bumper stays 22 are press-formed products made of a relatively thick steel plate, have a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape, and a flange formed on the rear portion thereof is not shown by a body structure member (front side) (not shown) by bolting or the like. Frame).

  The shock absorbing frame 23 is a press-molded product made of a relatively thin steel plate, and, as shown in FIG. 2, a front wall 31, an upper wall 32 extending rearward from the upper end 31a of the front wall, And a lower wall 33 extending rearward from the lower end 31b of the wall.

  The upper wall 32 includes a front portion 32a, an intermediate portion 32b, and a rear portion 32c that are divided by a first fold portion 41 and a second fold portion 42 that extend in the left-right direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2). Further, the lower surface of the rear portion 32c of the upper wall 35 is welded to the upper surface of the upper wall 21b of the bumper beam. Although details will be described later, the upper wall 32 has a convex shape in which at least a portion constituted by the front portion 32a and the intermediate portion 32b is directed upward, and the first and second bent portions 41 and 42 are bent of the upper wall 32. By forming an easy-bending portion that facilitates the above, when the automobile collides with a pedestrian or the like, the vehicle is deformed upward (outside) so as to efficiently absorb the collision energy.

  The lower wall 33 includes a front portion 33a, an intermediate portion 33b, and a rear portion 33c that are divided by a first fold portion 43 and a second fold portion 44 that extend in the left-right direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2). The lower wall 33 is welded to the lower surface of the lower wall 21c of the bumper beam at the upper surface of the rear portion 33c. Although details will be described later, the lower wall 33 has a convex shape in which at least a portion constituted by the front portion 33a and the intermediate portion 33b is directed upward, and the first and second bent portions 43 and 44 are bent of the lower wall 33. By forming an easy-bending portion that facilitates the above, when the automobile collides with a pedestrian or the like, the vehicle is deformed upward (inward) to efficiently absorb the collision energy.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bumper face 12 has a central flat portion 51 that is substantially flat in the vehicle width direction, and left and right ends that extend obliquely rearward from the left and right ends of the central flat portion 51 and wrap around the wheel arch 52. And an inclined portion 53. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the bumper face 12 is formed with a bumper grill 54 that forms an air intake at the central flat portion 51, and the bumper face upper portion 55 and the bumper face are separated by the bumper grill 54. Lower portions 56 are respectively disposed. The bumper face upper portion 55 includes a front wall 55a, an upper wall 55b extending rearward and upward from the upper end of the front wall 55a, and a lower wall 55c extending rearward substantially horizontally from the lower end of the front wall 55a, A bumper beam assembly 11 is accommodated inside thereof. Here, the lower wall 55c of the upper face is located at substantially the same height as the lower wall 21c of the bumper beam (slightly below the lower wall 21c), and the lower wall 55c of the bumper face upper 55 and the shock absorbing frame 23 The clearance with the lower wall 33 is relatively narrow.

  Such a bumper face 12 is manufactured, for example, by injection molding a resin such as polypropylene or polycarbonate, and forms a predetermined space between the shock absorbing frame 23 and a vehicle body structural material or an outer plate (not shown). Attached to a panel (front fender, etc.).

  When the vehicle travels, it may collide with other vehicles or obstacles on the road, and may collide with a pedestrian who has jumped out of the road. A pedestrian may collide with various parts of the vehicle body 1 of the automobile, but in many cases, it collides with the front surface of the front bumper 2. In the front bumper 2 having the above-described configuration, when an object to be collided (pedestrian or the like) collides with the central portion (that is, the central flat portion 13 of the bumper face 12), the shock absorbing frame 23 is crushed and plastically deformed. It is possible to absorb the collision energy and mitigate the impact received by the collision target.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state of deformation of the main part of the front bumper when the front bumper according to the first embodiment collides with a collision target. Here, FIG. 4A shows the state immediately before the collision, FIG. 4B shows the state after the collision when the bumper face (upper part of the face) has started deformation, and FIG. 4C shows the deformation of the bumper face. The state further advanced from the state of is shown. In FIG. 4, the bent portions 41 to 44 constituting the easily bent portion in the upper wall 32 and the lower wall 33 are indicated by white circles (◯), and the upper and lower ends of the front wall are indicated by black circles (●). (The same applies to FIG. 5).

  When the front bumper 2 collides with the collision object 60, the bumper face upper portion 55 is deformed and its front wall 55a is pushed rearward, and as shown in FIG. The front surface of the absorption frame 23 is pressed. At this time, the upper wall 32 of the shock absorbing frame 23 bends at the first and second bent portions 41 and 42 and the front end (the upper end 31a of the front wall), and the front portion 32a and the inner surface of the bumper face upper portion 55 together with the front wall 31. To touch. In addition, the lower wall 33 of the shock absorbing frame 23 is bent at the first and second bent portions 43 and 44 and the front end (lower end 31b of the front wall), and the bending angle θ between the front portion 33a and the intermediate portion 33b is increased. Get smaller.

  When the deformation of the bumper face upper portion 55 further proceeds, the entire shock absorbing frame 23 is crushed as shown in FIG. At this time, the upper wall 32 of the shock absorbing frame 23 is further bent at the first and second bent portions 41 and 42, so that the rear portion 32c of the upper wall 32 has a convex shape upward at its approximate center. It is deformed to be folded outward. Further, the lower wall 33 of the shock absorbing frame 23 is further bent at the first and second bent portions 43 and 44 and the front end, and the folding angle θ between the front portion 33a and the intermediate portion 33b is further reduced (substantially zero). The front portion 33a and the intermediate portion 33b are folded inward so as to form a convex shape.

  As described above, the lower wall 33 of the shock absorbing frame 23 is folded inward to avoid contact between the lower wall 33 of the shock absorbing frame 23 and the lower wall 55c above the bumper face when the shock absorbing frame 23 is deformed. Therefore, deformation of the shock absorbing frame 23 at the time of collision is not hindered. As a result, the occurrence of the remaining collapse of the shock absorbing frame 23 is suppressed, and the distance between the front wall 31 of the shock absorbing frame 23 and the front wall 21a of the bumper beam 21 is efficiently used as an effective stroke S for absorbing impact energy. Can be used.

  Further, the length between the lower end 31 b of the front wall 31 of the shock absorbing frame 23 and the first fold portion 43 of the lower wall 33 is between the first fold portion 43 and the second fold portion 44 of the lower wall 33. Since the length is set to be smaller than the length, the lower end 31b of the front wall does not move below the initial position shown in FIG. 4A when the shock absorbing frame 23 is deformed. Can be avoided from contacting the lower wall 45 of the bumper face upper portion 55.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state of deformation of a main part of the front bumper when the front bumper according to the second embodiment collides with a collision target. Here, FIGS. 5A and 5B show states corresponding to FIGS. 4A and 4C, respectively. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and matters not particularly mentioned below are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the shock absorbing frame 23 has an upper frame 61 that forms the upper wall 32 side and a lower frame 62 that forms the lower wall 33 side. The upper frame 61 and the lower frame 62 The front wall 31 is formed by superimposing the front portions. In this way, the thickness of the front wall 31 is substantially increased (in this case, doubled) to increase the rigidity of the other portions, thereby easily bending the input load caused by the collision (the upper wall 32 and the lower wall). 33 can be easily transmitted to the folding portions 41 to 44). Further, in the front bumper 2 according to the present embodiment, the initial folding angle θ of the lower wall 33 of the shock absorbing frame 23 is set to be smaller than that shown in FIG. It will easily be folded inward.

  In addition to the above method, for example, in the configuration shown in FIG. 4, the rigidity of the front wall 31 (including a part of the upper wall 32 and the lower wall 33 connected to the front wall 31 in some cases) is determined by press molding. It can also be increased by work hardening.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on specific embodiments, these embodiments are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, the upper wall and the lower wall of the shock absorbing frame can be provided with more easily bent portions (folded portions) than those shown in the embodiment as long as the above deformation can be controlled. It is. In the above embodiment, the lower wall of the shock absorbing frame is folded inward in consideration of the interference between the lower wall of the shock absorbing frame and the lower wall of the upper part of the face. In consideration of interference with the upper wall of the upper part, it is possible to fold the upper wall of the shock absorbing frame inward (downward). Further, the shock absorbing frame does not necessarily have to be a separate body from the bumper beam, and may be formed integrally with the bumper beam.

1 is an external perspective view of a front part of an automobile provided with a front bumper according to a first embodiment. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a front bumper according to a first embodiment. Schematic perspective view of bumper beam and shock absorbing frame formed in front of it Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of a deformation | transformation of the front bumper principal part at the time of the collision which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing which shows the mode of a deformation | transformation of the front bumper principal part at the time of the collision which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car body 2 Front bumper 5 Engine hood 6 Front garnish 11 Bumper beam assembly 12 Bumper face 21 Bumper beam 23 Shock absorption frame 31 Front wall 32 Upper wall 33 Lower wall 41 Center flat part 43 Right-and-left inclination part 51-54 Folding part (easy bending part) )
61 Upper frame 62 Lower frame S Effective stroke

Claims (4)

A bumper beam attached to the front of the vehicle body and extending in the vehicle width direction;
A bumper installed in front of the bumper beam at a predetermined interval with respect to the bumper beam, and having a central flat portion that is flat in the vehicle width direction and a left and right inclined portion that extends obliquely from the left and right ends of the central flat portion. Face and
A vehicle front bumper device comprising an impact absorbing member formed on the front side of the bumper beam and facing the central flat portion,
The shock absorbing member has a front wall and a lower wall extending rearward from the lower end of the front wall,
The vehicle front bumper device according to claim 1, wherein the lower wall of the shock absorbing member has a convex shape that extends upward in a lateral longitudinal section and has at least two easily bent portions extending in the left-right direction. The lower wall includes a first easily bent portion provided on the front wall side and a second easily bent portion provided on the bumper beam side,
The length between the lower end of the front wall and the first easily bent portion is smaller than the length between the first easily bent portion and the second easily bent portion. The vehicle front bumper device described.   The vehicle front bumper device according to claim 1, wherein a front wall of the shock absorbing member has higher rigidity than the upper wall and the lower wall. The shock absorbing member has an upper frame that forms the upper wall side and a lower frame that forms the lower wall side,
The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the front wall of the shock absorbing member is formed by overlapping a part of the upper frame and the lower frame in the front-rear direction. Front bumper device.

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