WO2024241410A1 - Vehicle exterior mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

This vehicle exterior mounting structure includes: a bumper beam provided so as to extend in the vehicle width direction and in at least one of the vehicle front and rear directions; a gusset which is provided so as to project outward from the bumper beam in the vehicle front–rear direction of the vehicle and which has an upper surface section, a lower surface section, and a protruding end face section; and an exterior member mounted on the protruding end face section. The gusset has a bent section extending in the vehicle width direction on at least one of the upper or lower surface section, and has a reinforcement section extending from the bumper beam side across the bent section toward, but without reaching, the protruding end face section.

Description

Vehicle exterior mounting structure

The present invention relates to a vehicle exterior mounting structure.

In recent years, there has been an increase in efforts to provide access to sustainable transport systems that take into consideration vulnerable transport participants, such as the elderly, people with disabilities and children. To achieve this, we are focusing on research and development to further improve road safety and convenience through development of crash safety performance.

Patent Document 1 discloses that the front part of a vehicle such as an automobile is provided with a sheet metal absorber (gusset) that, in the event of a minor collision in which the vehicle frame does not deform but the front bumper does, collapses and deforms between the bumper face (exterior member) and the bumper beam to absorb impact energy. The absorber is formed by bending a strip of steel plate into a U-shape and has a bead that extends in the length direction of the steel plate. The absorber is formed so that the bead depth of the arc-shaped upper part on the front side of the vehicle is deeper than the bead depth of the middle part on the rear side of the vehicle, allowing the buckling point to move gradually due to the difference in bead depth. This makes it possible to achieve more effective energy absorption than when localized buckling occurs.

International Publication No. 2012/124402

In terms of collision safety performance, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the beads are formed over the entire absorber, and the bead depth changes smoothly, so there is a possibility that the position at which the absorber starts to buckle may not be stable. In other words, depending on the rigidity of the arc-shaped upper part of the absorber, the center (top) of the arc shape may break, or the ends of the arc shape may break.

The purpose of this invention is to stabilize the deformation start position of the gusset in a vehicle exterior mounting structure in which the gusset supporting the exterior member on the bumper beam is capable of absorbing collision energy while undergoing plastic deformation when a collision load is input, thereby enabling the collision energy to be absorbed effectively. This will ultimately contribute to the development of a sustainable transportation system.

As a means for solving the above problem, the first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle exterior mounting structure having a bumper beam (e.g., bumper beam 12 in the embodiment) that is provided so as to extend in the vehicle width direction in at least one of the vehicle longitudinal directions, a gusset (e.g., gusset 20 in the embodiment) that is provided so as to protrude from the bumper beam outward in the vehicle longitudinal direction (e.g., the vehicle front side in the embodiment) and has an upper surface portion (e.g., upper surface portion 21 in the embodiment), a lower surface portion (e.g., lower surface portion 31 in the embodiment), and a protruding end surface portion (e.g., front end surface portion 41 in the embodiment), and an exterior member (e.g., bumper face 11 in the embodiment) that is attached to the protruding end surface portion, in which the gusset has a bent portion (e.g., bent portion 32 in the embodiment) that extends in the vehicle width direction on at least one of the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion, and a reinforcing portion (e.g., reinforcing bead 34 in the embodiment) that straddles the bent portion from the bumper beam side and extends to a position just short of the protruding end surface portion.

With this configuration, at least one of the upper and lower surface portions of the gusset has a bent portion that triggers bending (buckling), and a reinforcement portion that straddles the bent portion and extends beyond the protruding end surface portion. This has the following effect when a collision load in the vehicle longitudinal direction is input from the exterior member to the gusset. That is, first, in at least one of the upper and lower surface portions, buckling occurs at the outer end of the reinforcement portion in the vehicle longitudinal direction or in a region outer than the reinforcement portion in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Next, in at least one of the upper and lower surface portions, deformation continues so that the position of the buckling that has occurred moves gradually to the bent portion reinforced by the reinforcement portion. In this way, by controlling the position at which buckling occurs and the movement of the upper and lower surface portions, the load absorption performance due to deformation of the gusset is stabilized. This makes it possible to improve the load absorption performance due to deformation of the gusset compared to when the upper and lower surface portions simply buckle at the bent portion.

A second aspect of the present invention is that, in the above-mentioned first aspect, of the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion, a reinforced surface portion having the reinforcing portion (e.g., the reinforced surface portion 37 in the embodiment) has a first width (e.g., the first width H1 in the embodiment), which is the length in the vehicle width direction, which is greater than a second width (e.g., the second width H2 in the embodiment), which is the length in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction from the outer end of the reinforcing portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction (e.g., the front end 24a in the embodiment) to the protruding end surface portion.
According to this configuration, the reinforced surface portion having the reinforcement portion among the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion has a first width in the vehicle width direction that is larger than a second width in the vehicle front-rear direction between the reinforcement portion and the protruding end surface portion, and thus has the following effect compared to a case in which the first width in the vehicle width direction is smaller than the second width in the vehicle front-rear direction (a case in which the surface is elongated in the vehicle front-rear direction): That is, when a load is input in the vehicle front-rear direction, buckling does not easily occur in the outer end portion of the reinforcement portion in the vehicle front-rear direction or in a region outer than the reinforcement portion in the vehicle front-rear direction, so that the load in the vehicle front-rear direction can be effectively absorbed.

A third aspect of the present invention is directed to the above-mentioned first or second aspect, wherein the gusset has either the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion as a reinforced surface portion having the reinforcement portion (e.g., reinforced surface portion 37 in an embodiment), and the other of the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion as an unreinforced surface portion without the reinforcement portion (e.g., unreinforced surface portion 27 in an embodiment), and when viewed from the vehicle width direction, a first angle (e.g., the first angle in an embodiment) of the reinforced surface portion with respect to the horizontal plane is smaller than a second angle (e.g., the second angle in an embodiment) of the unreinforced surface portion with respect to the horizontal plane.
According to this configuration, the angle of the reinforced surface portion having the reinforcement with respect to the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle of the unreinforced surface portion having no reinforcement with respect to the horizontal plane, so that when a load is input in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a large load is applied to the reinforced surface portion closer to the horizontal side, making it easier for buckling to occur. This makes it easier to obtain the effect of controlling the position and movement of buckling, and improves the load absorption performance due to deformation of the gusset.

In accordance with the present invention, in a vehicle exterior mounting structure in which a gusset that supports an exterior member on a bumper beam is capable of absorbing collision energy while undergoing plastic deformation when a collision load is input, the deformation start position of the gusset can be stabilized, enabling the collision energy to be effectively absorbed.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a front part of a vehicle body of a vehicle at a center in a vehicle width direction according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view of the bumper beam and gusset of the vehicle as viewed obliquely from above and in the front. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gusset as viewed obliquely from above and in the front. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the gusset as viewed obliquely from below and in the front; 4 is a cross-sectional view of the gusset perpendicular to the vehicle width direction, showing a state before a frontal collision load is input. FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 , showing a first action when a frontal collision load is input. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5 , showing a second action when a frontal collision load is input.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the directions of front, rear, left and right, etc., are the same as those in the vehicle described below, unless otherwise specified. In addition, in the appropriate places in the drawings used in the following description, an arrow FR indicating the front of the vehicle, an arrow LH indicating the left side of the vehicle, and an arrow UP indicating the top of the vehicle are shown.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the front part of a vehicle such as an automobile at the center in the vehicle width direction (vehicle left-right direction). In the figure, the reference symbol 10 indicates the front bumper of the vehicle. The front bumper 10 has a bumper face (exterior member) 11 that extends in the vehicle width direction, and a bumper beam 12. The bumper beam 12 is positioned in front of and spaced apart from a radiator 13 for cooling a driving source such as an engine, and a condenser 14 for the vehicle's air conditioning. The bumper face 11 is positioned in front of and spaced apart from the bumper beam 12, and is arranged to cover the bumper beam 12 from the front.

The bumper beam 12 has, for example, a hat-shaped cross-sectional shape that opens toward the rear of the vehicle and extends in the vehicle width direction. The bumper beam 12 is formed, for example, by press-molding a steel plate into a specified shape. The bumper beam 12 has an open cross-sectional shape that extends in the vehicle width direction, but it may also have a closed cross-sectional shape that extends in the vehicle width direction.

Referring also to Figure 2, the bumper beam 12 extends between the front ends of the left and right side frames (not shown) of the vehicle body. The left and right ends of the bumper beam 12 are supported by the front ends of the left and right side frames via stays 15. Gussets 20 are provided on the left and right sides of the bumper beam 12, which support the inside of the bumper face 11 from the rear and can absorb collision loads on the bumper face 11. In the figure, the symbol 11a indicates a fixing part that extends toward the gusset 20 on the inside of the bumper face 11 and is fixed to the gusset 20.

The gussets 20 are provided in a pair on the left and right, spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The gussets 20 are added to the bumper beam 12 as separate parts from the bumper beam 12 in order to support the bumper face 11. The gussets 20 deform so as to crush in the fore-aft direction of the vehicle mainly during a light collision, thereby absorbing the collision load and reducing the amount of deformation of the bumper beam 12, and reducing the impact on vehicle parts such as the radiator 13 and condenser 14 located behind the bumper beam 12.

The bumper face 11 is a resin molded product made of a thermoplastic resin such as polypropylene. The bumper face 11 forms part of the exterior surface (shape surface) of the vehicle. The bumper face 11 is located at the front end of the vehicle body. The bumper face 11 has an open cross-sectional shape that opens to the rear side of the vehicle when viewed in cross section in Figure 1. A grill (not shown) is provided above or below the bumper face 11 to supply airflow while driving to the radiator 13 and condenser 14.

A pair of left and right gussets 20 are provided between the bumper beam 12 and the bumper face 11. The gussets 20 connect the bumper beam 12 and the bumper face 11 to each other, and when an object collides with the bumper face 11 from the front, they deform in response to the collision energy, absorbing part or all of the collision energy and reducing damage to the vehicle and the object struck. They function as energy absorbers.

The left and right gussets 20 have a symmetrical arrangement and configuration with respect to the center of the left and right sides of the vehicle body, for example. The gussets 20 are not limited to a symmetrical arrangement and configuration with respect to the center of the left and right sides of the vehicle body, and at least one of the arrangement and configuration may be asymmetric. The gussets 20 are not limited to a pair of left and right gussets, and may be a single gusset or three or more gussets.

The gusset 20 is provided so as to protrude from the bumper beam 12 towards the front of the vehicle. The gusset 20 is formed in a roughly U-shape that opens towards the rear of the vehicle when viewed from the vehicle width direction. The gusset 20 is formed, for example, by press molding a steel plate. The gusset 20 has an upper surface portion 21 that faces towards the top of the vehicle, a lower surface portion 31 that faces towards the bottom of the vehicle, and a front end surface portion (protruding end surface portion) 41 that faces towards the front of the vehicle. The gusset 20 is provided at a specified position with a specified width in the vehicle width direction.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4 together, the upper surface portion 21 and the lower surface portion 31 each have a band shape extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. An upper fixing flange 45 that bends and extends upward is connected to the rear end (rear end bend portion) 26 of the upper surface portion 21. The upper fixing flange 45 is connected to the upper front surface of the bumper beam 12 by spot welding or the like. A lower fixing flange 46 that is displaced downward in a step shape and extends rearward is connected to the rear end (rear end bend portion) 36 of the lower surface portion 31. The lower fixing flange 46 is connected to the underside of the bumper beam 12 by spot welding or the like. For convenience of illustration, there are some differences between the gusset 20 in Figure 2 and the above description.

The upper surface portion 21 has a bent portion 22 extending in the vehicle width direction (band width direction) at the intermediate portion (not limited to the center) in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The upper surface portion 21 is made into a first upper surface portion 21a that is horizontal or inclined slightly downward toward the front from the rear end 26 to the bent portion 22, and is made into a second upper surface portion 21b that is inclined more downward toward the front than the first upper surface portion 21a from the bent portion 22 to the front end (front end bent portion) 25.

A pair of left and right side beads 23 are formed on both sides of the upper surface 21 in the width direction of the band, extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle along the side edge on that side. The side beads 23 have a relatively small semicircular cross-sectional shape that protrudes upward, and extend across the front and rear ends 25, 26 of the upper surface 21.

A single reinforcing bead 24 is formed on the first upper surface portion 21a of the upper surface portion 21, extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in the center in the belt width direction. The reinforcing bead 24 has a relatively large semicircular cross-sectional shape that convex upward, and extends across the front and rear ends of the first upper surface portion 21a. The front end 24a (the outer end in the vehicle front-rear direction) of the reinforcing bead 24 is located on the bent portion 22. The reinforcing bead 24 is also formed on the upper fixing flange 45 at the rear of the upper surface portion 21 with a lowered protruding height, and extends to the upper end of the upper fixing flange 45.

The lower surface portion 31 has a bent portion 32 extending in the vehicle width direction (band width direction) at the intermediate portion (not limited to the center) in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The lower surface portion 31 is made into a first lower surface portion 31a that is horizontal or inclined slightly upward toward the front from the rear end 36 to the bent portion 32, and is made into a second lower surface portion 31b that is inclined slightly upward toward the front more than the first lower surface portion 31a from the bent portion 32 to the front end (front end bent portion) 35.

A pair of left and right side beads 33 are formed on both sides of the lower surface 31 in the width direction of the band, extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle along the side edge on that side. The side beads 33 have a relatively small semicircular cross-sectional shape that convex downward, and extend across the front and rear ends 35, 36 of the lower surface 31.

A single reinforcing bead 34 is formed on the lower surface portion 31, extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction in the central portion in the belt width direction. The reinforcing bead 34 has a relatively large semicircular cross-sectional shape that is convex downward, and extends from the rear end 36 of the lower surface portion 31 to the intermediate portion (not limited to the center) of the second lower surface portion 31b in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The reinforcing bead 34 is also formed on the lower fixing flange 46 at the rear of the lower surface portion 31 with a lower protruding height, and extends to the rear end of the lower fixing flange 46.

When viewed from the vehicle width direction, the lower surface portion 31 is disposed at an angle closer to the horizontal than the upper surface portion 21. Specifically, referring to FIG. 1, when viewed from the vehicle width direction, the angle θ1 of the straight line T1 connecting the front and rear ends 35, 36 of the lower surface portion 31 with respect to the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle θ2 of the straight line T2 connecting the front and rear ends 25, 26 of the upper surface portion 21 with respect to the horizontal plane.

The front end surface portion 41 extends approximately vertically between the front ends 25, 35 of the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31. The front end surface portion 41 is approximately square when viewed from the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, and has fastening holes 42 on its inner periphery for connecting to the bumper face 11. The front end surface portion 41 is connected to the inner fastening portion of the bumper face 11 via bolts and nuts, etc.

In the gusset 20 of the embodiment, the lower surface portion 31 is a reinforced surface portion 37 on which a reinforcing bead (reinforcing portion) 34 is formed, and the upper surface portion 21 is an unreinforced surface portion 27 having no reinforcing shape.
The reinforcing bead 34 extends forward from the rear end 36 side (the bumper beam 12 side) of the underside portion 31, over the bent portion 32, and to just before the front end surface portion 41. The reinforcing bead 34 is a round bead with a semicircular cross section, and protrudes downward of the vehicle beyond the flat portion of the underside portion 31.

Hereinafter, the side from the center of the vehicle toward the front or rear in the vehicle longitudinal direction will be referred to as the "outer side in the vehicle longitudinal direction." The "outer side in the vehicle longitudinal direction" of the front bumper 10 means the front side of the vehicle.
In the embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a front bumper 10 will be described, but the present invention can also be applied to a rear bumper (not shown). In this case, the "outside in the vehicle longitudinal direction" is the rear side of the vehicle.
Referring to Figure 4, the lower surface portion 31 (reinforced surface portion 37) is formed so that a first width H1, which is the length in the vehicle width direction, is greater than a second width H2, which is the length in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction from the outer end (front end 24a in this embodiment) of the reinforcing bead 34 to the front end surface portion 41.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
5 is a cross section perpendicular to the vehicle width direction of the gusset 20, showing the state before a frontal collision load is input. When an object collides with the bumper face 11 and a rearward collision load is applied to the bumper face 11, the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31 of the gusset 20 are configured to bend and deform so as to buckle under the collision load (see FIGS. 6 and 7), thereby absorbing the collision energy.
At this time, the lower surface portion 31 in particular deforms so as to gradually move the buckling position, thereby making it possible to absorb the collision energy more effectively than in the case where buckling occurs at one point.

In other words, when a frontal collision load is applied to the bumper face 11, the collision load is input toward the rear in the vehicle front-to-rear direction, and the gusset 20 begins to deform (see FIG. 6). At this time, bending deformation occurs in the upper surface portion 21 so that the bending angle of the bending portion 22 increases. That is, the first upper surface portion 21a changes so that the inclination angle increases upward toward the front from the rear end 26, and the second upper surface portion 21b changes so that the inclination angle increases upward toward the rear from the front end 25.

On the other hand, in the underside portion 31, the reinforcing bead 34 is formed so as to straddle the bending portion from front to back, so buckling deformation begins at the position of the front end 24a of the reinforcing bead 34 (the middle position of the second underside portion 31b) rather than at the bending portion 32. This buckling deformation occurs as the front portion of the second underside portion 31b bends upward because the second underside portion 31b is inclined upward toward the front.

The front end surface 41 is reinforced by welding weld nuts, etc., and the fastening parts of the bumper face 11 are fastened, so that it moves toward the rear of the vehicle without any particular deformation even when a frontal collision load is input. The gusset 20 absorbs the collision energy by deforming mainly at the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31 like a diamond-shaped pantograph (see Figure 7).

At this time, the bending (buckling) position of the underside 31 gradually moves from the buckling start position (front end 24a) that is spaced forward from the bend 32 toward the rear side (toward the bend 32). At this time, the buckling position is gradually moved by utilizing the length in the vehicle's fore-and-aft direction of the rear part of the second underside 31b (the area from the buckling start position to the bend 32), and the amount of energy absorption is increased by using the fore-and-aft length of the rear part of the second underside 31b.

Here, if the lower surface portion 31 is simply bent at one point of the bent portion 32, it is difficult to absorb energy at the lower surface portion 31. In other words, after bending (buckling) occurs at the bent portion 32, the amount of energy absorption is greatly reduced. In the embodiment, the bent portion 32 is reinforced with a reinforcing bead 34 to make it difficult to bend, and the bending (buckling) start position of the lower surface portion 31 is moved forward of the bent portion 32. If the buckling line of the lower surface portion 31 is too far forward, it becomes unstable where the lower surface portion 31 will buckle, and if the buckling line of the lower surface portion 31 is too far back, the amount of energy absorption expected to be obtained by moving the buckling line is reduced. In the embodiment, the position of the front end 24a of the reinforcing bead 34 can be adjusted so that the buckling line of the lower surface portion 31 is located at the front-rear middle part of the second lower surface portion 31b.

In this way, by arbitrarily adjusting the length of the reinforcing bead 34, the buckling line can be set at an optimum position, and the amount of energy absorption can be easily increased.
In the embodiment, the lower surface portion 31 of the gusset 20 is the reinforced surface portion 37, and the upper surface portion 21 is the non-reinforced surface portion 27, but this is not limiting, and the lower surface portion 31 may be the non-reinforced surface portion and the upper surface portion 21 may be the reinforced surface portion. In this case, the upper surface portion 21 is disposed at an angle closer to the horizontal than the lower surface portion 31. Also, both the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31 may be reinforced surface portions.

As described above, the vehicle exterior mounting structure in the above embodiment comprises a bumper beam 12 that is arranged to extend in the vehicle width direction in at least one of the vehicle fore-and-aft directions, a gusset 20 that is arranged to protrude outward from the bumper beam 12 in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction and has an upper surface portion 21, a lower surface portion 31 and a front end surface portion 41, and a bumper face 11 that is attached to the front end surface portion 41, and the gusset 20 has a bent portion 32 that extends in the vehicle width direction on at least one of the upper surface portion 21 or the lower surface portion 31 (lower surface portion 31), and has a reinforcing bead 34 that spans the bent portion 32 from the bumper beam 12 side and extends short of the front end surface portion 41.
According to this configuration, at least one of the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31 of the gusset 20 has a bent portion 32 that triggers bending (buckling), and a reinforcing bead 34 that straddles the bent portion 32 and extends to a position just before the front end surface portion 41. When a collision load in the vehicle longitudinal direction is input from the bumper face 11 to the gusset 20, the following action occurs. That is, first, in at least one of the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31, buckling occurs at the end portion on the outer side of the vehicle longitudinal direction of the reinforcing bead 34 or in a region on the outer side of the reinforcing bead 34 in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Next, in at least one of the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31, deformation continues so that the position of the buckling that has occurred gradually moves to the bent portion 32 reinforced by the reinforcing bead 34. In this way, by controlling the position of buckling and the movement of the upper and lower surface portions 21, 31, the load absorption performance due to the deformation of the gusset 20 is stabilized. This improves the load absorbing performance due to deformation of the gusset 20 compared to when the upper and lower surface portions 21 , 31 simply buckle at the bent portion 32 .

In the above-mentioned vehicle exterior mounting structure, of the upper surface portion 21 or the lower surface portion 31, the reinforced surface portion 37 having the reinforcing bead 34 has a first width H1, which is the length in the vehicle width direction, that is larger than a second width H2, which is the length in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction from the front end 34a of the reinforcing bead 34 on the outer side in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction to the front end surface portion 41.
According to this configuration, the reinforced surface portion 37 having the reinforcing bead 34 of the upper surface portion 21 or the lower surface portion 31 has a first width H1 in the vehicle width direction that is larger than the second width H2 in the vehicle front-rear direction between the reinforcing bead 34 and the front end surface portion 41, and thus has the following effect compared to a case where the first width H1 in the vehicle width direction is smaller than the second width H2 in the vehicle front-rear direction (a case where the vehicle is elongated in the vehicle front-rear direction). That is, when a load is input in the vehicle front-rear direction, buckling does not easily occur at the end of the reinforcing bead 34 on the outer side in the vehicle front-rear direction or at a region on the outer side in the vehicle front-rear direction than the reinforcing bead 34, so that the load in the vehicle front-rear direction can be effectively absorbed. If the first width H1 is smaller than the second width H2 (a case where the vehicle is elongated in the vehicle front-rear direction), the end of the reinforcing bead 34 on the outer side in the vehicle front-rear direction or at a region on the outer side in the vehicle front-rear direction than the reinforcing bead 34 becomes more likely to buckle due to the relationship of relative strength, and there is a possibility that the load absorption cannot be performed sufficiently.

In the above-mentioned vehicle exterior mounting structure, the gusset 20 has either the upper surface portion 21 or the lower surface portion 31 as a reinforced surface portion 37 having the reinforcing bead 34, and the other of the upper surface portion 21 or the lower surface portion 31 as an unreinforced surface portion 27 without the reinforcing bead 34, and when viewed from the vehicle width direction, the angle θ1 of the reinforced surface portion 37 with respect to the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle θ2 of the unreinforced surface portion 27 with respect to the horizontal plane.
According to this configuration, the angle θ1 of the reinforced surface portion 37 having the reinforcing bead 34 with respect to the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle θ2 of the unreinforced surface portion 27 without the reinforcing bead 34 with respect to the horizontal plane, so that when a load is input in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a larger load is applied to the reinforced surface portion 37 closer to the horizontal side, making it easier for buckling to occur. This makes it easier to obtain the effect of controlling the position at which buckling occurs and its movement, and improves the load absorption performance due to the deformation of the gusset 20.

The configuration in the above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention, such as replacing the components of the embodiment with well-known components.

10 Front bumper 11 Bumper face (exterior part)
12 Bumper beam 20 Gusset (energy absorber)
21 Upper surface portion 22 Bend portion 31 Lower surface portion 32 Bend portion 34 Reinforcing bead (reinforcing portion)
34a Front end (end)
41 Front end surface (protruding end surface)
H1 First width H2 Second width T1, T2 Straight line θ1, θ2 Angle with respect to the horizontal plane

Claims (3)

A bumper beam provided to extend in a vehicle width direction in at least one of a front-rear direction and a rear-front direction of the vehicle;
A gusset is provided so as to protrude outward from the bumper beam in the vehicle front-rear direction, the gusset having an upper surface portion, a lower surface portion, and a protruding end surface portion;
an exterior member attached to the protruding end surface portion,
A vehicle exterior mounting structure, wherein the gusset has a bent portion extending in the vehicle width direction on at least one of the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion, and has a reinforcing portion extending from the bumper beam side across the bent portion and to a position just short of the protruding end surface portion. The vehicle exterior mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the reinforced surface portion having the reinforcing portion among the upper surface portion or the lower surface portion has a first width, which is the length in the vehicle width direction, that is greater than a second width, which is the length in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction from the outer end of the reinforcing portion in the vehicle fore-and-aft direction to the protruding end surface portion. The gusset has one of the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion as a reinforced surface portion having the reinforcement portion, and the other of the upper surface portion and the lower surface portion as an unreinforced surface portion not having the reinforcement portion,
3. The vehicle exterior mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein, when viewed in a vehicle width direction, a first angle of the reinforced surface portion with respect to a horizontal plane is smaller than a second angle of the unreinforced surface portion with respect to the horizontal plane.

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