JP2012086669A - Collision energy absorption device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely absorb collision energy using a front tire.SOLUTION: A front underrun protector 4 is supported by the front end lower part of the vehicle 1 and extends in the vehicle width direction. An energy absorbing body 6 is supported by the side part of the vehicle 1 in the rear side of the front underrun protector 4 and has a front face 8a close to the front underrun protector 4 and a rear face opposed to the front surface 11a of the front tire 11. An upper side rotation body 25 and a lower side rotation body 27 are freely rotatably supported at a position nearly symmetric to the horizontal surface including the rotary shaft of the front tire 11 in the rear surface of the energy absorption body.

Description

  The present invention relates to a collision energy absorbing device when a vehicle collides with another vehicle.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-274300 discloses a front under which is disposed in the lower front portion of a vehicle such as a large truck and prevents other vehicles from getting caught under a chassis when a frontal collision with another vehicle such as a normal passenger car occurs. The mounting structure of the run protector is described. In this structure, the mounting stay is fixed to the main frame of the vehicle, and the front underrun protector is fixed to the lower front side of the mounting stay. An elevating step is fixed to the lower rear side of the mounting stay, and the rear portion of the elevating step is located at a predetermined interval in front of the front tire. When another vehicle collides with the front underrun protector and the mounting stay is greatly deformed rearward, the rear part of the lifting step collides with the front tire, and the impact of the other vehicle is absorbed by the elastic force of the front tire.

JP 2002-274300 A

  However, in the structure described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-274300, if the front tire rotates without stopping completely when contacting the lifting step, a dynamic frictional force is generated between the rear portion of the lifting step and the front tire. Acts, and the rear part of the lifting step may be deformed downward by receiving a force in the rotational direction of the front tire. If the rear part of the lifting step is deformed downward, the rear part of the lifting step is not supported by the front tire, and there is a possibility that collision energy is not absorbed using the front tire.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a collision energy absorbing device that can reliably absorb collision energy using a front tire.

  In order to achieve the above object, a collision energy absorbing device according to the present invention includes a front under-run protector, an energy absorber, and a rotating body. The front underrun protector is supported at the lower front end of the vehicle and extends in the vehicle width direction. The energy absorber is supported on the side of the vehicle behind the front underrun protector, and has a front surface close to the front underrun protector and a rear surface facing the front surface of the front tire. The rotating body is disposed behind the rear surface of the energy absorber, is rotatably supported by the energy absorber, and can rotate when sliding with the front surface of the front tire.

  When another vehicle collides with the front surface of the vehicle equipped with the collision energy absorbing device having the above-described configuration, the end of the front under-run protector is deformed in the vehicle front-rear direction to press the energy absorber, and the energy absorber is moved rearward. When it moves, the rotating body contacts the front surface of the front tire. If the front tire is rotating without stopping completely at the time of this contact, the rotating body rotates with the rotation of the front tire, so the rotation direction of the front tire acting on the rear part of the energy absorber from the front tire ( The downward force is reduced. For this reason, the deformation | transformation to the downward direction of the rear part of an energy absorber is suppressed, the rear part of an energy absorber is reliably supported by the front surface of a front tire, and the movement to the vehicle rear of an energy absorber is controlled by a front tire. Therefore, the collision energy input to the front underrun protector can be reliably absorbed by the deformation of the energy absorber. Further, since the energy absorber is reliably supported by the front surface of the front tire, the collision energy can be absorbed by the elastic force of the front tire.

  Thus, since the rear surface of the energy absorber that moves rearward in the event of a collision is reliably supported by the front surface of the front tire, it is possible to reliably absorb the collision energy using the front tire, The impact applied to the vehicle can be efficiently reduced.

  Further, as the rotating body, an upper rotating body above the rotating shaft of the front tire and a lower rotating body below may be provided.

  In the above configuration, at the time of the collision, the upper rotating body and the lower rotating body are in contact with the front surface of the front tire at two locations above and below the rotation axis of the front tire. Increases stability.

  In addition, by setting the contact positions of the upper rotating body and the lower rotating body with the front surface of the front tire to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the horizontal plane including the rotation axis of the front tire, the upper rotating body and the lower rotating body are moved to the front. Since the front surface of the tire is in good balance and the vertical force is reduced, the reliability and stability of the support of the energy absorber are further improved.

  According to the present invention, in the event of a collision with another vehicle, the generated collision energy can be reliably absorbed using the front tire, and the impact applied to the other vehicle can be reduced.

It is a side view of the front lower part of the vehicle provided with the collision energy absorption device of one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view explaining a rotary body. It is a side view which shows the state at the time of the collision of the vehicle of FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the figure, FR indicates the front of the vehicle, UP indicates the upper side, and IN indicates the inner side in the vehicle width direction. In the following description, the front-rear direction means the front-rear direction of the traveling direction of the vehicle, and the left-right direction means the left-right direction in a state of facing the front of the traveling direction of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a cab overtrack (vehicle) 1 on which the collision energy absorbing device of this embodiment is mounted includes a cab 2, a main frame 3, and a front underrun protector (hereinafter referred to as FUP). ) 4, a front underrun bracket 5, a front tire 11 and the like.

  The main frame 3 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction on both sides of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction, and the front end portions of the left and right main frames 3 are connected by cross members. The FUP 4 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape and extends in the vehicle width direction. The FUP 4 is supported in parallel below the cross member by a pair of left and right front underrun brackets 5 fixed to the front end of the frame. A front bumper 12 that covers the front end of the FUP 4 is provided at the front of the vehicle. The fender 16 is fixed to the lower part of the cab 2 and covers the upper front half of the front tire 11.

  A cab mount 20 for supporting the cab 2 is fixed to the front upper part of the main frame 3, and a spring bracket 21 for supporting the rotating shaft 24 of the front tire 11 is provided to the front lower part of the main frame 3. It is fixed. A steering unit 22 for steering is fixed to the upper part of the front part of the frame 3 on the right side of the traveling direction of the vehicle, and a drag link 23 is connected to the steering unit 22.

  The collision energy absorbing device includes the front under-run protector 4, the energy absorber 6, an upper rotating body 25, and a lower rotating body 27 (see FIG. 3). The energy absorber 6, the upper rotator 25, and the lower rotator 27 are respectively disposed on the left and right sides of the lower front end of the vehicle 1. In addition, since the right side and the left side of the energy absorber 6, the upper side rotary body 25, and the lower side rotary body 27 have the same configuration, only one (right side) will be described below, and the other (left side) will be described below. Description is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the energy absorber 6 is disposed between the FUP 4 and the front tire 11, and is supported on the vehicle body side by a tubular bracket 13. The bracket 13 integrally has a flange-shaped one end 13a fixed to the outer portion of the main frame 3 and a flange-shaped other end 13b to which the upper portion of the energy absorber 6 is fixed. It extends outward in the vehicle width direction toward 13b and bends downward.

  The energy absorber 6 includes a main body 7, a catcher 8, and a rear plate part 9. The main body 7 integrally includes a rectangular cylindrical outer peripheral plate 14 opening in front and rear and a plurality of partition plates 10, and the other end 13 b of the bracket 13 is fixed to the upper surface of the outer peripheral plate 14. The plurality of partition plates 10 are arranged inside the outer peripheral plate 14 and are arranged in the vehicle width direction at a predetermined interval. Each partition plate 10 extends in the front-rear direction in a standing state, and an upper end edge and a lower end edge of each partition plate 10 are joined to an inner lower surface 14 a and an inner upper surface 14 b of the outer peripheral plate 14, respectively.

  The catcher 8 is fixed to the front end surface of the main body 7 and closes the front opening of the main body 7. The front surface 8 a of the catcher 8 (the front surface of the energy absorber 6) is located close to the rear surface of the end portion of the FUP 4. The catcher 8 has a plate shape whose length in the vehicle width direction is substantially equal to that of the main body 7 and whose length in the vertical direction is longer than that of the front end portion of the main body 7. The upper end portion and the lower end portion of the catcher 8 protrude upward and downward from the front end portion of the main body 7 and curve forward (FUP 4 side). Due to this curvature, when the end of the FUP 4 is deformed rearward and comes into contact with the front surface 8a of the catcher 8, the movement of the end of the FUP 4 in the vertical direction is restricted.

  The rear plate portion 9 has a plate shape in which the length in the vehicle width direction is substantially equal to the width of the main body 7 and the length in the vertical direction is substantially equal to the length of the rear end portion of the main body 7. The rear opening of the main body 7 is closed by being fixed. A rear surface 9 a (rear surface of the energy absorber 6) of the rear plate portion 9 is located below the fender 16 and faces the front surface 11 a of the front tire 11. When a collision load from the front is input to the energy absorber 6 and the rearward movement of the energy absorber 6 is restricted when the vehicle 1 collides forward, the outer peripheral plate 14 and the plurality of partition plates 10 are respectively Causes crushing deformation. Due to the crushing deformation of the main body 7, the collision energy input to the energy absorber 6 is efficiently absorbed.

  A bracket 29 is fixed to the rear surface 9 a of the rear plate portion 9. The bracket 29 integrally includes a base portion 30, a pair of upper arm portions 31 and 32 facing each other, and a pair of lower arm portions 33 and 34 facing each other. The base portion 30 has a plate shape in which the length in the vertical direction is substantially equal to the length in the vertical direction of the rear plate portion 9 and the length in the width direction is substantially equal to the width of the front tire 11. The base portion 30 is disposed at a position facing the front surface 11 a of the front tire 11, and is fastened and fixed to the rear surface 9 a of the rear plate portion 9 by bolts 35. The upper arm portions 31 and 32 are bent from both ends of the upper portion of the base portion 30 in the vehicle width direction and extend opposite to each other toward the upper rear side. The lower arm portions 33 and 34 are bent from both ends of the lower portion of the base portion 30 in the vehicle width direction and extend opposite to each other toward the lower rear side. Bearings (not shown) are fixed to the tip portions 31a and 32a of the upper arm portions 31 and 32 and the tip portions 33a and 34a of the lower arm portions 33 and 34, respectively.

  The upper rotating body 25 has a radius larger than the length from the bearing center of the tip portions 31a and 32a to the tip (front end) of the tip portions 31a and 32a, and the axial length is longer than the distance between the tip portions 31a and 32a. It has a short cylindrical shape and integrally has a rotating shaft 26 extending on the axis of the cylinder. The upper rotating body 25 is rotatably supported by the bracket 29 by inserting both end portions of the rotating shaft 26 into the bearings of the tip portions 31a and 32a. The lower rotating body 27 has a cylindrical shape with the same radius and the same length as the upper rotating body 25, and integrally includes a rotation shaft 28. The lower rotating body 27 is rotatably supported by the bracket 29 by inserting both end portions of the rotating shaft 28 into the bearings of the distal end portions 33a and 34a.

  The rotating shafts 26 and 28 of the upper rotating body 25 and the lower rotating body 27 are substantially parallel to the rotating shaft 24 of the front tire 11, respectively, and are substantially symmetrical positions from the horizontal plane including the axis of the rotating shaft 24 of the front tire 11. Is arranged. Therefore, when the energy absorber 6 moves rearward at the time of a frontal collision of the vehicle 1, the outer peripheral surfaces 25 a and 27 a of the upper rotating body 25 and the lower rotating body 27 are horizontal surfaces including the axis of the rotating shaft 24 of the front tire 11. From the front surface 11a of the front tire 11 at a substantially symmetrical position.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a flat first step 17 is fixed on the upper surface of the main body 7 of the energy absorber 6, and a second step 19 is provided above the first step 17. The first step 17 is disposed outside the bracket 13 in the vehicle width direction, and the second step 19 is disposed above the bracket 13. These steps 17 and 19 function as a scaffold when the occupant gets on and off the cab 2. The second step 19 is fixed to an intermediate portion of the step panel 18 extending downward from the bottom of the cab 2 on the outer side in the vehicle width direction. The step panel 18 is a substantially U-shaped panel that opens outward in the vehicle width direction. The upper part of the rear surface of the step panel 18 is curved along the fender 16, and the lower end of the step panel 18 is close to the first step 17. .

  2, the illustration of the cab 2, the front bumper 12, the front underrun protector 4, the front underrun protector bracket 5, the catcher 8, the step panel 18 and the second step 19 is omitted.

  In this embodiment, when another vehicle collides with the front surface of the vehicle 1, the end of the front underrun protector 4 is deformed rearward to press the catcher 8 of the energy absorber 6, and the energy absorber 6 is behind the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral surface 25 a of the upper rotator 25 and the outer peripheral surface 27 a of the lower rotator 27 come into contact with the front surface 11 a of the front tire 11. If the front tire 11 rotates without stopping completely at the time of the contact, the upper rotating body 25 and the lower rotating body 27 rotate with the rotation of the front tire 11, so that the energy absorber from the front tire 11. 6, the force in the rotational direction (downward) of the front tire 11 acting on the rear portion of the front tire 11 is reduced. Further, since the upper rotator 25 and the lower rotator 27 are in contact with the front surface 11a of the front tire 11 in a balanced manner at a position substantially symmetrical from the horizontal plane including the axis of the rotating shaft 24 of the front tire 11, the upper rotator 25 and The vertical force acting on the lower rotating body 27 is reduced. For this reason, the downward deformation of the rear portion of the energy absorber 6 is suppressed, the rear portion of the energy absorber 6 is reliably and stably supported by the front surface 11a of the front tire 11, and the energy absorber 6 moves toward the rear of the vehicle. Is regulated by the front tire 11. Therefore, the collision energy input to the front underrun protector 4 can be reliably absorbed by the deformation of the energy absorber 6. In addition, since the energy absorber 6 is reliably and stably supported by the front surface 11 a of the front tire 11, the collision energy can be absorbed by the elastic force of the front tire 11.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the energy absorber 6 that moves rearward at the time of the collision is the front tire 11 by the upper rotating body 25 and the lower rotating body 27 that are supported by the rear plate portion 9 of the energy absorbing body 6. Therefore, it is possible to reliably absorb the collision energy using the front tire 11 and to efficiently reduce the impact applied to the other vehicle at the time of the collision.

  The shapes of the upper rotator 25 and the lower rotator 27 are not limited to a cylindrical shape having a rotation axis, but may be any shape that can rotate in contact with the front surface 11a of the front tire 11. For example, a ball shape having no rotation axis may be used. Further, the number of rotating bodies is not limited to two and is arbitrary. Moreover, the energy absorber 6 should just be supported by the vehicle body side, for example, may be supported by the front under-run protector 4. FIG.

  As mentioned above, although the embodiment to which the invention made by the present inventor is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited by the discussion and the drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention according to this embodiment. That is, it is needless to say that other embodiments, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are all included in the scope of the present invention.

  The present invention is widely applicable as a collision energy absorbing device for large vehicles such as cargo vehicles.

1: Cab over truck (vehicle)
3: Main frame 4: Front underrun protector 5: Front underrun protector bracket 6: Energy absorber 7: Body of energy absorber 8: Catcher 8a: Front of catcher (front of energy absorber)
9: Rear plate portion 9a: Rear surface of rear plate portion (rear surface of energy absorber)
11: Front tire 11a: Front tire front surface 24: Front tire rotating shaft 25: Upper rotating body 27: Lower rotating body 29: Bracket

Claims (2)

A front underrun protector supported in the lower front end of the vehicle and extending in the vehicle width direction;
An energy absorber supported on a side of the vehicle behind the front underrun protector and having a front surface close to the front underrun protector and a rear surface facing the front surface of the front tire;
A collision body disposed behind the rear surface of the energy absorber, rotatably supported by the energy absorber, and rotatable when sliding in contact with the front surface of the front tire. Absorber. The collision energy absorbing device according to claim 1,
The collision energy absorbing device comprising: an upper rotating body above the rotating shaft of the front tire and a lower rotating body below the rotating body as the rotating body.

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