JP4899432B2 - Vehicle hood hinge structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hood hinge structure for attaching a hood hinge in a vehicle such as a passenger car.

  In a vehicle having a front-opening front hood at the front part of the vehicle body, the rear part of the hood is pivotally supported by the vehicle body via a hood hinge. By the way, the following performance is mainly required for the hood hinge. In other words, it is important to control the rear movement of the hood panel at the time of vehicle collision (particularly frontal collision), absorb the impact load applied to the hood panel from above, and ensure the positional accuracy between the hood and the vehicle body. It has become.

  Here, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a conventional hood hinge as shown in FIG. In the figure, it consists of two parts, a base 1 fixed to the vehicle body 3 side and an arm 2 attached to the hood 4, and is movable by inserting a pin into the hinge center part (rotation center) 5 and caulking. . In the drawing, the arrow Fr indicates the front of the vehicle, and the arrow Rr indicates the rear of the vehicle.

  As the arm 2 rotates around the hinge center portion 5, the hood 4 opens and closes by a predetermined angle as shown by the double arrows in FIG. In such a hood hinge, in order to prevent the rear movement of the hood panel when an impact load is applied from the front of the vehicle, the arm 2 is provided with a hook 6 and the base 1 is provided with a receiving 7 corresponding thereto. Then, the hook 6 is caught by the receiver 7 at the time of collision, so that the hood 4 does not move backward.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 58-195765 JP 2000-108942 A JP-A-6-166382

However, in the conventional hood hinge structure shown in FIG. 11, for example, the hook 6 is positioned directly above the vehicle mounted on the base 1 and the vertical gap between the hook 6 and the base 1 or the vehicle body is present. It is extremely small. Therefore, when an impact load is applied to the hood panel from above, the arm 2 cannot move downward.
Further, in the layout, when the distance between the vehicle body mounting of the base 1 and the hinge center portion 5 becomes long, it is difficult to obtain the position accuracy of the hood mounting portion of the arm 2 and it is difficult to ensure the appearance quality of the hood 4 and the fender. Become.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a hood hinge structure for a vehicle that can improve various performances described above with a relatively simple configuration.

In the vehicle hood hinge structure according to the present invention, a hinge base fixed to the vehicle body and a hinge arm fixed to the vehicle front hood are coupled via a hinge shaft so that the front hood can be rotated with respect to the vehicle body. A hood hinge structure for a vehicle pivotally supported on the vehicle body, wherein the hinge base is fixed to the upper surface of the cowl side portion, and the vehicle body fixing portion is bent downwardly from the lateral center side of the vehicle. A vertical wall portion disposed on the side of the side surface of the cowl side portion and extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The hinge shaft is provided on the vertical wall portion, and the vertical wall portion of the hinge base and the cowl side portion The hinge arm located on the side of the vehicle in the center in the left-right direction with respect to the side surface of the vehicle is coupled to the hinge base via the hinge shaft, and sequentially forwards from the outside in the left-right direction of the vehicle. Side of the cowl side portion, the hinge base of the vertical wall portion and said hinge arm are arranged, provided with an engagement portion projecting rearward of the vehicle in the front vicinity of the hinge arm, the said vertical wall cowl A space opened in front of the vehicle is provided between the side portions, and the engagement portion is arranged to face the opening of the space with the front hood closed, and the hinge arm moves to the rear side of the vehicle. When the engagement portion engages with the vertical wall portion, further rearward movement of the engagement portion is prevented, and backward movement of the front hood is suppressed. .

  Further, in the vehicle hood hinge structure of the present invention, the hinge shaft is positioned at the rear of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body fixing portion, and the vertical wall portion is between the vehicle body fixing portion and the hinge shaft. It is fixed to the side surface of the cowl side portion.

  In the vehicle hood hinge structure of the present invention, the hinge arm is provided with an engaging portion that protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle, and a space that opens to the front of the vehicle is provided between the vertical wall portion and the cowl side portion. The engagement portion faces the opening of the space when the front hood is closed.

  According to the present invention, the height of the hinge is set substantially lower by providing the hinge pin using the vertical wall portion bent downward from the hinge-based vehicle body fixing portion. The height of the cowl side portion can be increased, the body rigidity can be effectively improved, and the front hood itself can be set low.

  Further, there are no other members such as a hinge base and a cowl side portion below the hinge arm. That is, since there are no parts or members that hinder the deformation of the hinge arm, the deformation space can be secured. Thereby, the absorption performance of the impact load applied to the hood panel from above can be improved.

  In addition, an engaging part is provided on the hinge arm and a receiving part is provided on the hinge base so that the two face each other when the front hood is closed. As a result, when the front hood receives a rearward load and the hinge arm moves rearward, the engaging part engages with the hinge base, and the front hood moves rearward when an impact load is input from the front of the vehicle. It can be effectively suppressed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a hood hinge structure for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a front portion of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle 100 has a monocoque body (hereinafter simply referred to as a body), and an engine is mounted in an engine room at the front of the body. A front hood 101 is attached to the upper opening of the engine room so as to be openable and closable, and a front fender 102 connected to the left and right sides of the front hood 101 covers the upper side of the left and right front wheels 103. A front bumper 104 is connected to the front side of the front fender 102 in a smoothly connected manner, and a windshield 106 is inclined between the left and right front pillars 105 on the rear side of the front hood 101.

  The front hood 101 is a so-called front-opening type, and is supported at the left and right rear ends (circular portions indicated by alternate long and short dash lines) via a hinge mechanism 10 described later so as to be rotatable with respect to the body. . That is, the front hood 101 is developed from the front side as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

  Next, FIGS. 2 to 4 show the periphery of the hinge or hinge mechanism 10 mounted on the body in this embodiment. In each figure, the front hood 101 is not shown. Moreover, although it has the left-right paired hinge 10, the right (arrow R) side is shown, and the left side is also comprised similarly. In the hinge 10, a hinge base 11 fixed to the body and a hinge arm 12 fixed to the front hood 101 are coupled via a hinge pin 13 (hinge shaft).

  In the body around the hinge 10, a plurality of panel members and the like are coupled to each other to ensure a predetermined size / shape and rigidity. Specifically, the cowl side front panel 107, the dash side front panel 108 and the cowl side outer member 109 disposed in the front and rear of the cowl side front panel 107, and the dash side front panel 108 are disposed substantially inside (left and right direction or vehicle width direction center side). A suspension upper bracket 110, a cowl side panel 111 disposed substantially inside the cowl side outer member 109, and the like are included.

  The cowl box 112 extends substantially over the entire width in the left-right direction of the body substantially corresponding to the rear edge of the front hood 101, and a cowl top panel 113 is disposed on the cowl box 112. The These members, including the above-described cowl side front panel 107 and the like, are coupled to each other, thereby forming a body structure near the rear upper portions of the left and right sides of the engine room shown in FIG.

  Now, in the hinge structure of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the hinge base 11 and the hinge arm 12 constituting the hinge 10 are such that the longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction, and the hinge arm 12 is It is arranged on the direction center side. These members are formed by press-molding a steel plate, and the cross-sectional shape of the hinge base 11 is generally curved so as to be recessed outward in the left-right direction. On the other hand, the cross-sectional shape of the hinge arm 12 is curved so as to be concave toward the center in the left-right direction, and the two are joined back to back. The hinge base 11 and the hinge arm 12 are coupled by a hinge pin 13 at the rear end of each.

  The hinge base 11 is fixed from the upper surface of the cowl side portion (the cowl side front panel 107), and is bent downward from the vehicle lateral center of the vehicle body fixing portion 14 so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. And a vertical wall portion 15 extending. The vehicle body fixing portion 14 is located at the front portion of the hinge base 11 and is formed to be substantially flat so as to contact the upper surface of the cowl side front panel 107. In order to ensure rigidity, undulations 14a, 14b and the like are provided at appropriate positions on the vehicle body fixing part 14, and are molded into an appropriate three-dimensional shape.

  Bolt holes 16 spaced in the front-rear direction are formed in the vehicle body fixing portion 14 on the outer side in the left-right direction. In this example, the two bolt holes 16 are provided, but they are formed as appropriate long holes in the front-rear direction. In addition, by making it a long hole, the position can be adjusted during assembly and assembly. Then, the vehicle body fixing portion 14 is fastened and fixed by inserting bolts 17 into the respective bolt holes 16 and screwing them into the body side. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the reinforcement 114 is attached to the lower surface side of the cowl side front panel 107, and the bolt 17 is screwed to the welding nut 18 fixed to the reinforcement 114.

  The vertical wall portion 15 extends substantially linearly in the front-rear direction, and has a general, deformed C-shaped or U-shaped general cross-sectional shape as shown in FIG. Although the hinge pin 13 is located on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body fixing portion 14, the vertical wall portion 15 is fixed to the side surface of the cowl side portion between the vehicle body fixing portion 14 and the hinge pin 13.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, a projecting piece 15a projects downward from a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the vertical wall portion 15, and a bolt hole 19 is formed in the projecting piece 15a. In addition, this bolt hole 19 is also formed in a moderately long hole in the front-back direction. The vertical wall portion 15 is fastened and fixed by inserting the bolt 20 into the bolt hole 19 and screwing it into the body side. Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the welding nut 21 is fixed to the back side of the cowl side front panel 107, and the bolt 20 is screwed to the welding nut 21 in a form sandwiching the cowl side panel 111.

  In the hinge base 11, a stopper 22 that protrudes toward the hinge arm 12 is provided in the vicinity of the hinge pin 13 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the stopper 22 is formed so as to protrude so as to overlap with the vicinity of the proximal end portion of the hinge arm 12 in a plan view. When the front hood 101 is deployed, the hinge arm 12 comes into contact with the stopper 22, thereby restricting the opening angle of the front hood 101.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (side view), the hinge arm 12 extends downward from the hinge pin 13, curves in a substantially loop shape, and further extends forward along the hinge base 11. The hinge arm 12 has a hood fixing portion 23 that is fixed to the front hood 101. The hood fixing portion 23 is located at the front end portion of the hinge arm 12 and is formed to be substantially flat so as to contact the fixing portion on the front hood 101 side.

  Bolt holes 24 spaced in the front-rear direction are formed in the hood fixing portion 23. In this example, there are two bolt holes 24, but they are formed in an appropriate long hole in the front-rear direction. Then, bolts (not shown) are inserted into the respective bolt holes 24 and screwed to the front hood 101 side, whereby the hood fixing portion 23 is fastened and fixed.

  Further, in the hinge structure of the present invention, the hinge arm 12 is provided with an engaging portion that protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle, and a space that opens to the front of the vehicle is provided between the vertical wall portion 15 and the cowl side portion. The engagement portion faces the opening of the space in the closed state.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6 and the like, a hook 25 that protrudes toward the hinge base 11 from the vicinity of the front portion of the hinge arm 12 to the rear is provided. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the hook 25 has a C-shaped or semicircular cross-sectional shape, and is configured in a three-dimensional manner instead of a simple flat surface. On the other hand, a receiving portion 26 is provided at the front end portion of the vertical wall portion 15 of the hinge base 11, and a gap 27 (see FIG. 9) is formed between the receiving portion 26 and the cowl side front panel 107. As apparent from FIG. 6 and the like, in a normal state, the hook 25 does not interfere with the hinge base 11 side.

  In the above configuration, when the front hood 101 is opened and closed, the hinge arm 12 rotates via the hinge pin 13 as shown in FIG. When the front hood 101 is deployed, the hinge arm 12 comes into contact with the stopper 22 and a predetermined opening angle of the front hood 101 is set. Smooth and proper opening / closing operation of the front hood 101 supported by the hinge arm 12 is ensured.

  In particular, the height of the hinge 10 can be set substantially low by providing the hinge pin 13 using the vertical wall portion 15 bent downward from the vehicle body fixing portion 14 of the hinge base 11. Thereby, the height of the cowl side portion can be relatively increased, the body rigidity can be effectively improved, and the front hood 101 itself can be set low.

  Further, a downward deformation space with respect to the load from above the front hood 101 can be easily secured. The hinge base 11 is a relatively thick sheet metal member and is difficult to be deformed due to its rigidity. If the vertical wall is bent upward, the deformation space is reduced as it is. In the present invention, the hinge arm 12 is positioned on the center side of the vehicle with respect to the hinge base 11 and the cowl side portion (see FIG. 4 and the like), so that the hinge arm 12 is located below the hinge arm 12 as shown in FIG. There are no other members such as the hinge base 11 and the cowl side. Thereby, a deformation space can be secured because there is no part or member that prevents the deformation of the hinge arm 12. Therefore, the absorption performance of the impact load applied to the hood panel from above can be improved.

  Further, as described above, the hinge base 11 is fixed to the upper surface of the cowl side portion by the vehicle body fixing portion 14, and the side surface of the cowl side portion between the vehicle body fixing portion 14 and the hinge pin 13 by the vertical wall portion 15. Fixed to. In this way, tightening and fixing from two directions is not performed at a single location but at two locations of the vehicle body fixing portion 14 and the vertical wall portion 15, and the mounting rigidity and positional accuracy of the hinge shaft 13 are improved. As a result, the quality of the appearance of the vehicle (particularly, the accuracy of the parting (gap) with the fender) can be improved, and the productability can be greatly improved. Moreover, the rigidity at the time of opening and closing of the front hood 101 improves, and the smooth operation | movement can be ensured over a long term.

  In addition, the hinge arm 12 is provided with a hook 25 and the hinge base 11 is provided with a receiving portion 26 so that the two face each other when the front hood 101 is closed. As a result, when the front hood 101 receives a rear load and the hinge arm 12 (fixed portion with the front hood 101) moves rearward, the engaging portion, that is, the hook 25 engages with the hinge base 11, The backward movement of the hinge arm 12 is prevented. In this case, since the engaging portion enters the gap 27 that is formed between the vertical wall portion 15 and the cowl side portion and opens to the front of the vehicle, the engagement between the two is ensured. Therefore, the rearward movement of the front hood 101 when the impact load is input from the front of the vehicle can be effectively suppressed.

  In this case, the space of the gap 27 is located in the vicinity of the bent portion that connects the vehicle body fixing portion 14 and the vertical wall portion 15, that is, engages with a highly rigid portion, so that even in a large input load, the engagement state Can be reliably maintained. Further, since the engaging portion is formed in a portion having high rigidity at a position closer to the front hood 101, it is an effective position for preventing the front hood 101 from moving.

  Further, the hinge pin 13 is set inside the cowl box 112 (see FIG. 2 and the like). Here, in a recent vehicle, the windshield tends to be inclined, and the lower end of the windshield is positioned more forward of the vehicle. Even in such a situation, in the present invention, the hinge pin 13 is located inside the cowl box 112 located below the windshield 106 in order to secure the opening area of the front hood 101. The hinge base 11 of the present embodiment is configured by a vertical wall portion 15 which is lower than the vehicle body fixing portion 14 except for the mounting position of the hinge pin 13. The hinge arm 12 is bent to avoid interference with the cowl top panel 113.

In the above case, the hook 25 of the hinge arm 12 is not a simple shape but a three-dimensional shape (in this embodiment, a semicircular shape) in order to improve rigidity.
The hinge base 11 has a stopper 22 that regulates the opening degree of the front hood 101, and regulates the opening degree of the front hood 101 by contacting the hinge arm 12.
Further, the hinge base 11 and the hinge arm 12 are formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section, so that the rigidity can be improved.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated with embodiment, this invention is not limited only to these embodiment, A change etc. are possible within the scope of the present invention.
For example, the size / shape of the vehicle body fixing portion 14 or the projecting piece 15a may be increased within an allowable range such as a space, and the number of the bolts 17 and 20 can be changed accordingly.

It is a perspective view showing an example of a passenger car concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view around the hinge mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view around the hinge mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view around the hinge mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the hinge mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the hinge mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the CC line of FIG. It is a side view which shows the operation example of the hinge mechanism in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the example of the conventional hinge mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Hinge 11 Hinge base 12 Hinge arm 13 Hinge pin 14 Car body fixing | fixed part 15 Vertical wall part 22 Stopper 23 Hood fixing | fixed part 25 Hook 26 Receiving part 100 Vehicle 101 Front hood 102 Front fender 105 Front pillar 106 Front glass 107 Cowl side front panel 108 Dash Side front panel 109 Cowl side outer member 110 Suspension upper bracket 111 Cowl side panel 112 Cowl box 113 Cowl top panel

Claims (2)

A vehicle hood hinge structure in which a hinge base fixed to a vehicle body and a hinge arm fixed to a vehicle front hood are coupled via a hinge shaft, and the front hood is pivotally supported with respect to the vehicle body. There,
The hinge base is fixed to the upper surface of the cowl side portion, and the vehicle body fixing portion is bent downwardly from the center side in the left-right direction of the vehicle, and is disposed on the side of the side surface of the cowl side portion. A vertical wall extending in the front-rear direction of
The hinge shaft is provided on the vertical wall portion, and the hinge arm located on the lateral side of the center of the vehicle with respect to the side wall of the vertical wall portion of the hinge base and the cowl side portion via the hinge shaft. Coupled to the hinge base,
In order from the laterally outer side of the vehicle, the side surface of the cowl side portion, the vertical wall portion of the hinge base and the hinge arm are arranged,
An engaging portion that protrudes toward the rear side of the vehicle is provided near the front portion of the hinge arm, and a space that opens to the front of the vehicle is provided between the vertical wall portion and the cowl side portion, and the front hood is closed. In the state, the engaging portion is arranged to face the opening of the space,
When the hinge arm moves to the rear side of the vehicle, the engagement portion engages with the vertical wall portion, so that further rearward movement of the engagement portion is prevented, and the front hood moves backward. A hood hinge structure for a vehicle, characterized in that it is deterred .   The hinge shaft is located at the rear of the vehicle with respect to the vehicle body fixing portion, and the vertical wall portion is fixed to a side surface of the cowl side portion between the vehicle body fixing portion and the hinge shaft. The hood hinge structure for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein:

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