JP3930354B2 - Front underrun protector - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a front underrun protector installed below a front bumper.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When a truck collides with a passenger car from the front, the passenger car may sink under the front bumper of the truck.
[0003]
In order to prevent such intrusion, a proposal has been made to provide a front underrun protector in a truck. The front andan ramp protector is a part that is fixed to the front portion of the vehicle body frame and disposed below the front bumper, and prevents the vehicle body from entering the lower portion of the front bumper.
[0004]
The front underrun protector imposes a burden on the truck in terms of weight because of the large parts arranged in the entire vehicle width direction of the truck.
[0005]
For this reason, the front under-run protector, like the structure implemented in the rear bumper, adopts a hollow part with a square closed cross-section that is formed entirely from extrusion molding of aluminum members to reduce the size and weight. It has been broken.
[0006]
By the way, the vehicle body frame of the truck has a narrower vehicle width dimension in order to ensure a large steering angle, while the front underrun protector has a longer length dimension in accordance with the overall width dimension of the vehicle body.
[0007]
For this reason, the front underrun protector is required to have a strength that can withstand an impact force from the front in a state where the front underrun protector is assembled to the vehicle body so that the end portion projects from the vehicle body frame. In particular, since both ends of the front underrun protector projecting from the body frame in the vehicle width direction are cantilevered, the point supported by the body frame has a large bending moment when an impact is applied to the end of the vehicle width direction. Rigidity that easily occurs and can withstand the bending moment is required.
[0008]
However, since the integral part formed by extrusion molding of an aluminum member as described above has a lower rigidity strength than that of steel, it is difficult to ensure a sufficient rigidity strength with the part alone. Therefore, it is required to reinforce the aluminum front underrun protector.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the aluminum front underrun protector is an integrally formed product having a closed cross section as a whole, it cannot be reinforced such that a reinforcing member is provided only at a necessary location inside.
[0010]
Therefore, for example, the entire front underrun protector as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-263198 is divided into three parts on the left side in the vehicle width direction, the central part, and the right side in the vehicle width direction, and these three parts are connected in a nested manner. Without a complex aluminum structure that renovates the entire protector, such as connecting with a structure, the required rigidity and strength cannot be secured, and a considerable cost burden is imposed when reinforcing the rigidity and strength.
[0011]
The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a front underrun protector capable of ensuring the required rigidity and strength while maintaining a small size and light weight at a low cost.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a front under-run protector according to claim 1 is a hollow protector formed by fitting a pair of steel plate protector pieces having a substantially U-shaped cross section into a closed cross section. A main body and an attachment seat attached to the inner surface portion of the vertical wall inner surface portion of the protector piece on the front side of the vehicle body along the vehicle width direction corresponding to a portion to be attached to the body frame, and attached to the inner surface portion by plug welding; A structure in which a stiffener having a substantially U-shaped cross section having a pair of horizontal wall portions extending from the upper and lower portions of the mounting seat to the inner surface of the vertical wall of the protector piece on the rear side of the vehicle body is employed.
[0013]
According to the front underrun protector, the protector body with a closed cross-section structure combined with a substantially U-shaped steel plate provides light weight, low cost and high rigidity and strength, and the Stefifna corresponds to the mounting seat of the protector body. The thickness dimension of the portion that fits inside and deforms in the tensile direction is increased.
[0014]
Therefore, the closed cross-section structure with steel plate that provides high rigidity strength and the simple local reinforcement with stiffeners ensure a simple structure and effective rigidity strength against the required bending without sacrificing downsizing. The In addition, the stiffener can effectively reinforce the portion where a large bending moment acts.
[0016]
In addition to the above object, the invention described in claim 2 further utilizes the protector main body so that each protector piece is attached to the front side of the vehicle body so that the vehicle equipment such as a lamp for irradiating the front from the lower side of the vehicle body can be attached. The pair of upper and lower horizontal walls of the opening edge of the protector piece on the rear side of the vehicle body are fitted to each other so as to be fixed to the pair of upper and lower horizontal walls of the opening edge of the protector piece, and the front side of the vehicle body The overhanging dimension of the lateral wall of the protector piece was lengthened, the overhanging dimension of the lateral wall of the rear body protector piece was shortened to bring the fitting part to one side, and a vehicle fitting mounting seat was formed on the lateral wall of the front protector piece.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in FIGS.
[0018]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a vehicle, for example, a truck, and FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a side frame 1a and a cross member 1b joined in a ladder shape. A vehicle body frame 2 is a front wheel (steering wheel) suspended on both sides of the front portion of the vehicle body frame 1.
[0019]
A front bumper 3 (illustrated by a two-dot chain line) is provided at the front end of the body frame 1 along the vehicle width direction. A front underrun protector 5 is disposed below the front bumper 3 along the vehicle width direction. The front underrun protector 5 is disposed at a point near the front wheel that has been retracted from the front bumper 3 toward the front wheel 2. The front under-run protector 5 has a width that matches the overall width of the vehicle body. And two places in the vehicle width direction of the center part are being fixed to the front-end | tip part of a pair of bracket 6 protruded from the front part lower side of the side frame 1a.
[0020]
The front underrun protector 5 has a structure in which steel plates that are inexpensive in cost are combined. The entire front underrun protector 5 is shown in FIG. 5, its exploded structure is shown in FIG. 6, and the structure of each part is shown in FIGS.
[0021]
The structure of the front underrun protector 5 will be described. In FIG. 5, 7 is a hollow protector body, 8 is a protector piece that constitutes the vehicle body front side of the protector body 7, and 9 is a protector piece that also constitutes the vehicle body rear side. It is. As shown in FIG. 6, the protector pieces 8 and 9 are each made of a thin steel plate having a substantially U-shaped cross section and extending in the vehicle width direction. Each of the protector pieces 8 and 9 has a length dimension corresponding to the full width dimension of the vehicle body (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the protector body 7 is fitted from the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body so that the openings 8a, 9a (shown in FIG. 6) of the protector pieces 8, 9 are formed in a rectangular closed cross section. And are attached to each other. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the protector body 6 includes a pair of upper and lower lateral walls 10 formed on both sides of the opening of the protector piece 8 (vehicle body front side), and the protector piece 9 ( The pair of upper and lower lateral walls 11 formed on both sides of the opening on the rear side of the vehicle body are fitted to each other so that a closed cross-sectional shape is formed, and the entire end of each outer lateral wall 10 is fitted to the inner lateral wall 11. It is welded to the outer surface of and fixed to both. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the projecting dimension of the outer lateral wall 10 is long, the projecting dimension of the inner lateral wall 11 is shortened, and the fitting portion is moved to the rear side of the vehicle body, and is formed only by the lateral wall 10. The single wall part is taken widely. Further, among the single wall portions, a plurality of through holes 12 are formed at points on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the upper wall portion as shown in FIG. Further, a nut 13 is fixed to the back surface side of each through hole 12 by welding, and a vehicle vehicle fitting mounting seat for mounting a vehicle fitting such as a lamp, for example, a mounting seat 14a of a fog lamp 14 is bolted to the same portion. A lamp mounting seat 15 is formed. Reference numeral 27 denotes a bolt for fixing the fog lamp 14.
[0022]
Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of passages are provided at the center of the vertical wall 17 (wall disposed on the rear side of the vehicle) of the protector piece 9, specifically at points on both sides of the body frame 1. Each hole 18 is formed. Further, a nut 19 is fixed to the back surface side of each through hole 18 by welding, and a pair of mounting seats 21 are formed on both sides of the center. As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 7, the pair of mounting seats 21 and the flat plate-like fixing portions 6 a and 6 a formed at the tip portions of the brackets 6 and 6 face the nut 19. The protector main body 7 having a square closed cross section is fastened in a posture along the vehicle width direction. Note that both sides of the protector main body 7 in the vehicle width direction are bent in a generally U shape so as to conform to a vehicle body (not shown).
[0023]
Further, in the lumen of the protector body 7, a reinforcing material, for example, a stiffener 24 is accommodated at a point where the greatest bending moment is applied in the event of a collision. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the stiffeners 24 are respectively housed between the vertical wall 17 portion where the mounting seat 21 is provided and the vertical wall 16 portion opposed thereto. Each of the stiffeners 24 is a small member having a substantially U-shaped cross section and extending in the vehicle width direction. Specifically, the stiffener 24 is attached to the vertical wall 17 of the protector piece 9 from the upper and lower ends of the vertical wall-like mounting seat 25 arranged along the inner surface of the vertical wall 16 of the protector piece 8. A substantially U-shaped elongated part having a pair of upper and lower lateral wall portions 26 protruding toward the top is used. This stiffener 24 is arranged along the vehicle width direction. And the attachment seat 25 used as the one end side of the stiffener 24 is attached to the inner surface of the vertical wall of the protector piece 9 facing the attachment seats 21 and 21 by welding, for example, plug welding. Further, the ends of a pair of horizontal side wall portions 26 which are the other end sides of the stiffener 24 extend to a point where they contact the inner surface of the protector piece 9. In addition, 25a shows the circular through-hole formed in the multiple places (three places) of the attachment seat 25 used by plug welding. That is, the stiffener 24 is attached to a portion of the protector piece 8 (front side of the vehicle body) that is deformed in the pulling direction (elongation) when a bending moment is applied. By attaching the stiffener 24, the thickness dimension of the protector piece 8 is locally maximized only at a portion where the bending moment acts most, and the rigidity to withstand the bending of the protruding front underrun protector 5 is secured. .
[0024]
That is, as shown in FIG. 7, it is assumed that an impact F is applied from the front of the vehicle body to the end side of the front underrun protector 5, for example, due to a collision.
[0025]
Here, since the protector portion protruding from the body frame 1 is in a cantilever state, the applied impact force concentrates on the mounting seat 21 and bends with the mounting seat 21 as a fulcrum (bending deformation).
[0026]
At this time, the protector main body 7 which is the main part of the front underrun protector 5 is provided with a high strength rigidity by a closed cross-sectional structure in which substantially U-shaped steel plates are combined, and is a part on the bending extension side, that is, an attachment Since the thickness of the vertical wall 16 portion of the protector piece 8 on the front side of the vehicle body facing the seat 21 is increased by the attachment of the stiffener 24 (reinforcement), the bending deformation of the front under protector 5 with the mounting seat 21 as a fulcrum is It can be suppressed.
[0027]
Therefore, the rigid strength provided by the steel plate protector body 7 itself, and the fact that the protector body 7 has a two-part (divided) structure allows the stiffener 24 to be stored in the portion where the bending moment is most exerted and stretched by bending deformation. By rational reinforcement such as by attaching the stiffener 24 to the side portion, only the rigidity of the local rigidity is reinforced, and the rigidity strength against the required bending can be effectively obtained without impairing downsizing, that is, the body frame. The rigidity and strength to withstand the impact applied from the end of the front underrun protector 5 protruding from 1 can be secured. In particular, the stiffener 24 can effectively reinforce a portion where a large bending moment acts by using a substantially U-shaped member.
[0028]
In addition, the protector body 7 as the main part is a closed cross-sectional structure by combining open cross sections using steel plates, so it is inexpensive and lightweight, compared to an aluminum front underrun protector, in terms of cost, A front underrun protector that is excellent in terms of weight reduction and rigidity can be realized.
[0029]
In addition, the stiffener 24 is built in after the stiffener 24 is welded to the inner surface of the protector piece 8 on the front side of the vehicle body as shown in FIG. 6, and then the stiffener 24 is used as a stopper to open the protector piece 8. Since the opening of the protector piece 9 forming the rear side of the vehicle body is fitted inside, and both are simply attached by welding, it is simple.
[0030]
Further, the fitting portion where the protector pieces 8 and 9 are fitted is moved toward the rear side of the vehicle body to form the lamp mounting seat 15, so that the front under-lamp protector 5 disposed below the front bumper 3 is utilized to A vehicle fitting such as a lamp suitable for irradiating the front of the vehicle body from the side, for example, a fog lamp 14 can be attached. In particular, since the lamp mounting seat 15 is formed by widening the lateral wall 10 on the front side of the vehicle body that is disposed on the outside, a vehicle fitting such as a fog lamp 14 having a mounting seat 14a of any size and shape can be used as a fitting portion. It can be installed without interfering with the steps.
[0031]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In one embodiment, the lamp mounting seat is formed, but a device for measuring the distance from another vehicle traveling in front of the vehicle may be mounted at the position.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a closed cross-sectional structure in which substantially U-shaped steel plates are combined, a structure in which a stiffener is housed in the closed cross-sectional structure, and the stiffener has a large thickness on the extension side. This structure realizes a structure that locally reinforces the lightweight and inexpensive steel plate protector body, which is simple and effective at low cost and without compromising the size and weight. Can be secured. Moreover, it is possible to effectively reinforce the portion where a large bending moment acts.
[0034]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the vehicle equipment can be attached by utilizing the protector body disposed below the front bumper.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front underrun protector according to an embodiment of the present invention together with a vehicle body frame equipped with the protector.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the front underrun protector and the vehicle body frame.
3 is a side cross-sectional view of a front under protector including a stiffener along line A in FIG. 1. FIG.
4 is a side sectional view of a front under protector including a fog lamp along line B in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the front underrun protector.
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the front underrun protector.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of a front underrun protector assembled to a vehicle body frame.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Body frame 3 ... Front bumper 5 ... Front under-run protector 6 ... Bracket 7 ... Protector main body 8, 9 ... Protector piece 15 ... Lamp mounting seat (vehicle fitting mounting seat)
21 ... mounting seat 24 ... stiffener 25 ... mounting seat 26 ... side wall.

Claims (2)

A front underrun protector supported by the body frame and attached along the vehicle width direction at a position below the front bumper,
A pair of steel plate protector pieces with a substantially U-shaped cross section extending along the vehicle width direction are fitted and fitted with each other so that the openings of the protector pieces face each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and form a closed cross section. A hollow protector body,
The protector piece is formed on the protector piece on the rear side of the vehicle body, and a mounting seat that can be attached to the vehicle body frame,
Of the vertical inner wall of the protector piece on the front side of the vehicle body , a mounting seat attached to the inner surface portion corresponding to the mounting seat by plug welding along the vehicle width direction, and the rear of the vehicle body from above and below the mounting seat A front underrun protector comprising: a stiffener having a substantially U-shaped cross section having a pair of lateral wall portions extending until they contact the inner surface of the longitudinal wall of the side protector piece . Each of the protector pieces has a pair of upper and lower lateral walls formed at the opening edge of the protector piece on the rear side of the vehicle body on the inner side with respect to the pair of upper and lower horizontal walls formed at the opening edge of the protector piece on the front side of the vehicle body. Both of them are fitted together and fixed together, the overhang dimension of the lateral wall of the protector piece on the front side of the vehicle body is lengthened, the overhang dimension of the lateral wall of the protector piece on the rear side of the vehicle body is shortened, and the fitting part is moved to one side 2. The front underrun protector according to claim 1, wherein a vehicle fitting mounting seat is formed on a wall surface portion of a lateral wall of the protector piece on the front side of the vehicle body.

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