JP4517628B2 - Body front structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle body front structure, and more particularly to a vehicle body front structure that protects a collision body when the vehicle collides with a collision body in a vehicle body such as an automobile.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vehicle body front structure that protects a collision body when the vehicle collides with a collision body in a vehicle body such as an automobile, a movable bumper that is pivotally supported by a rotation shaft near the tip position of a front side member (also referred to as a frame). (Also referred to as an arm), when a collision with a collision object is detected or predicted, while the bumper rotates from the storage position behind the front end position in the vehicle front-rear direction to the operating position forward and below the front end position A configuration is known in which a collision body is brought down on a hood by protruding (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, a bumper is provided at the front lower part of the bonnet that extends forward, and a protruding member that protrudes forward at the lower part of the bumper and whose tip extends in the vehicle width direction receives the load acting from the front, while the load from the lower to the upper In contrast, there is known a configuration that can move upward (for example, see Patent Document 2). Also, a pedestrian protection bumper is provided at the lower end of the front end of the vehicle body, and pedestrian knee protection means that operates in conjunction with the operation of the pedestrian protection bumper and operates to scoop up the pedestrian's legs. The provided structure is known (for example, refer patent document 3). Also known is a configuration in which a bracket is fixed in front of the frame at a position below the bumper, a support plate is provided on the bracket so as to be rotatable via a rotation shaft, and an auxiliary bumper is provided on the front surface of the support plate. (For example, refer to Patent Document 4).
JP 2000-255350 A JP 2001-10424 A JP 2001-1848 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-8114

  However, in Patent Document 1, when the movable bumper is in the storage position, the movable bumper cannot absorb an impact acting on the vehicle body at the time of collision, and the movable bumper is likely to interfere with the road surface. Even if the movable bumper is stored at a position where it does not interfere with the road surface, a new space for storing the movable bumper is required, which may cause layout problems.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body front structure that can absorb an impact acting on a vehicle body at the time of a collision by a movable bumper in a storage position and that the movable bumper hardly interferes with a road surface.

The vehicle body front structure according to the first aspect of the present invention is disposed at a bumper reinforcement erected at the front end portions of the left and right side members, a storage position covering the front of the bumper reinforcement, and a lower position than the storage position. An operating position that protrudes forward of the vehicle body from the bumper reinforcement, and a movable bumper that can move to the vehicle body, and the movable bumper is pivoted about a lower end portion of the movable bumper to move the bumper reinforcement from the storage position. It is possible to move to an operating position.

Therefore, when the movable bumper is located below the storage position and is in the operating position protruding forward from the vehicle body from the bumper reinforcement, when the vehicle body collides with the collision body, the movable bumper hits a portion below the collision body. In contact, it absorbs shock by being pressed and crushed before bumper reinforcement. As a result, it is possible to suppress bending that occurs between a portion below the collision body and a portion above the collision body. On the other hand, when the movable bumper is in the storage position covering the front of the bumper reinforcement, the impact can be absorbed by the movable bumper interposed between the collision body and the bumper reinforcement when the vehicle body collides with the collision body. , Can reduce vehicle damage. Further, the operating position of the movable bumper is below the storage position, and the storage position of the movable bumper is above the vehicle body from the operating position. For this reason, when the movable bumper is in the storage position, the movable bumper hardly interferes with the road surface. Further, since the storage position of the movable bumper is positioned to cover the front of the bumper reinforcement, a new space is required for accommodating the movable Pampa.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle body front structure according to the first aspect, the movable bumper is held in the storage position when the vehicle speed is low, and the operating position when the vehicle speed is medium. And a movable bumper moving means that is held at the storage position when the vehicle speed is high .

Therefore, in addition to the contents of the first aspect, the movable bumper moving means holds the movable bumper in the storage position when the vehicle speed is low, and moves to the operating position when the vehicle speed is medium. When the vehicle speed is high, the vehicle is held in the storage position. As a result, the collision body or the vehicle body can be effectively protected by the movable bumper according to the vehicle speed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the vehicle body front structure according to the first aspect further comprises movable bumper moving means for predicting a collision of a collision body and moving the movable bumper from the storage position to the operating position. Features.

  Therefore, in addition to the contents of the first aspect, the movable bumper moving means moves the movable bumper from the storage position to the operating position in anticipation of the collision of the collision body. As a result, the collision body or the vehicle body can be effectively protected by the movable bumper.

  According to a fourth aspect of the vehicle body front structure of the present invention, the movable bumper has a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force against a collision body.

  Therefore, in addition to the content of the first aspect, when the movable bumper is in the operating position, the reaction force applied to the collision object can be reduced by the reaction force reducing means of the movable bumper.

The vehicle body front structure according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a bumper reinforcement installed on the front ends of the left and right side members, a storage position covering the front of the bumper reinforcement, and a bumper reinforcement disposed below the storage position. And a movable bumper that can move to the front of the vehicle body, and the movable bumper can move from the storage position to the operating position by rotating around the lower end of the movable bumper. Therefore, the movable bumper at the storage position can absorb the impact acting on the vehicle body at the time of collision, and has an excellent effect that the movable bumper hardly interferes with the road surface. Moreover, it has the outstanding effect that the new space which accommodates a movable pump is unnecessary.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle body front structure according to the first aspect, the movable bumper is held in the storage position when the vehicle speed is low, and is moved to the operating position when the vehicle speed is medium. Since the movable bumper moving means is held at the storage position when the vehicle speed is high, the collision body or the vehicle body is effectively protected by the movable bumper according to the vehicle speed. It has an excellent effect of being able to.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the vehicle body front structure according to the first aspect has movable bumper moving means for predicting a collision of a collision body and moving the movable bumper from the storage position to the operating position. In addition to the described effects, the movable bumper has an excellent effect that the collision object or the vehicle body can be effectively protected.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle body front portion structure according to the first aspect, wherein the movable bumper has a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force against the collision body. In addition to the effect, it has an excellent effect of reducing the reaction force against the collision body.

  An embodiment of a vehicle body front structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  In the figure, the arrow UP indicates the vehicle body upward direction, and the arrow FR in the figure indicates the vehicle body front direction.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle body 10 of the present embodiment is a vehicle body having a relatively high vehicle height that enables off-road traveling, and a bumper cover 14 of the front bumper 12 is provided at the lower front end of the vehicle body 10. Are arranged along the vehicle width direction. In addition, a grill 18 is disposed between the vehicle width direction intermediate portion of the bumper cover 14 and the front end portion of the hood 16, and the vehicle width direction intermediate portion of the bumper cover 14 extends along the vehicle width direction. A movable bumper 20 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bumper reinforcement 22 of the front bumper 12 is installed on the front end portions 24 </ b> A of the left and right front side members 24, and the arm 26 is provided in the vicinity of the front end portions 24 </ b> B of the left and right front side members 24. Is attached from the upper rear side of the vehicle body toward the lower front side of the vehicle body.

  As shown in FIG. 5, an actuator 28 composed of a motor or the like as a movable bumper moving means is disposed at the front end (lower end) 26 </ b> A of the arm 26, and the movable bumper 20 is formed on the rotating shaft of the actuator 28. The paired left and right arms 29 are connected.

  Accordingly, when the actuator 28 is actuated, the movable bumper 20 is disposed below the storage position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1 covering the front of the vehicle body of the bumper reinforcement 22 and below the storage position. ) 20A protrudes ahead of the vehicle body from the bumper reinforcement 22 and is movable to the operating position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  When the movable bumper 20 is in the storage position, the upper end portion (front end portion in the operating position) 20 </ b> A of the movable bumper 20 is positioned on the front side of the vehicle body of the bumper reinforcement 22.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the actuator 28 is connected to a control circuit 30 as a movable bumper moving means, and the control circuit 30 is connected to a vehicle speed detection sensor 32. Therefore, the control circuit 30 operates the actuator 28 based on the vehicle speed data input from the vehicle speed detection sensor 32, and moves the movable bumper 20 to the storage position and the operation position.

  Specifically, when the vehicle speed V is low (for example, V ≦ 20 km / h), the storage position is set. When the vehicle speed V is medium (for example, 20 km / h <V <40 km / h), the storage position is set. When the vehicle speed V is high (for example, V ≧ 40 km / h), the storage position is set.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the movable bumper 20 is configured to close the notch 40 formed from the vehicle body lower side in the vehicle width direction intermediate portion of the bumper cover 14 at the storage position. The seen shape is trapezoidal.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the movable bumper 20 is formed with an opening 42 as a reaction force reducing means inside the outer peripheral edge, and a plurality of openings 42 are provided at predetermined intervals in the vehicle width direction. The rib 44 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the outer peripheral portion of the movable bumper 20 is made of a resin material 46 and is filled with an EA material 48.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, when the vehicle speed V is low or high, the control circuit 30 operates the actuator 28 based on the vehicle speed data input from the vehicle speed detection sensor 32 and is movable as indicated by the solid line in FIG. The bumper 20 is set to the storage position. As a result, for example, when the vehicle body 10 collides with a collision body such as a wall, the impact can be absorbed by the upper end portion 20A of the movable bumper 20 interposed between the collision body and the bumper reinforcement 22. For this reason, damage to the front portion of the grill 18 and the hood 16 of the vehicle body 10 can be reduced. Further, since the storage position of the movable bumper 20 is disposed so as to cover the front of the bumper reinforcement 22, and is located above the vehicle body as compared with the operation position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the movable bumper 20 is unlikely to interfere with the road surface.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle speed V is a medium speed, the control circuit 30 operates the actuator 28 based on the vehicle speed data input from the vehicle speed detection sensor 32, and moves the movable bumper 20 to the operating position as shown in FIG. To do. As a result, the front end 20 </ b> A of the movable bumper 20 collides with a portion K <b> 1 below the collision body K before the bumper reinforcement 22. For this reason, the movable bumper 20 can absorb the impact by being pressed and crushed before the bumper reinforcement 22 by the lower portion K1 of the collision body K, and the lower portion K1 and the upper portion of the collision body K can be absorbed. The bending of the connecting portion K3 between the portion K2 can be reduced.

  In addition, since the front end portion 20A of the movable bumper 20 is easily deformed to the rear side of the vehicle body by the opening 42 as the reaction force reducing means, the reaction force acting on the collision body K can be reduced.

  At this time, the impact generated in the portion K2 above the collision body K can be absorbed by the deformation of the grill 18 and the hood 16.

  In the present embodiment, the control circuit 30 operates the actuator 28 according to the vehicle speed, and moves the movable bumper 20 to the storage position and the operation position. As a result, the collision body K or the vehicle body 10 can be effectively protected by the movable bumper 20 according to the vehicle speed.

  In this embodiment, since the storage position of the movable bumper 20 is a position that covers the front of the bumper reinforcement 22, a new space for storing the movable bumper 20 is not necessary.

  In the present embodiment, when the movable bumper 20 is in the storage position, the cooling air can be blown to the radiator through the opening 42 formed in the movable bumper 20. As a result, the cooling performance of the radiator is also improved.

  In the present embodiment, the reaction force acting on the portion K1 below the collision body K is controlled by adjusting the number and thickness of the plurality of ribs 44 formed in the opening 42 of the movable bumper 20. Can do.

  In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a configuration may be adopted in which no rib is formed in the opening 42 of the movable bumper 20. In this case, the reaction force acting on the part K1 below the collision body K can be controlled by adjusting the size of the opening 42 or the thickness of the resin material 46 around the opening. it can.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the opening of the movable bumper 20 may not be formed.

  In the above embodiment, the control circuit 30 operates the actuator 28 based on the speed data from the vehicle speed detection sensor 32 and moves the movable bumper 20 to the storage position and the operation position. When the collision body K and the vehicle body 10 may collide using a TV camera or a radar provided on the control unit 10, the control circuit 30 predicts the collision of the collision body before the collision, It is good also as a structure which act | operates and moves the movable bumper 20 from an accommodation position to an operation position.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 1-1 of FIG. It is an operation explanatory view showing the vehicle body front part structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonally front which shows the movable bumper accommodation position state of the vehicle body to which the vehicle body front part structure concerning one embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonal front which shows the movable bumper operation position state of the vehicle body to which the vehicle body front part structure according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is the disassembled perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonally front which shows the vehicle body front part structure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonally front which shows the movable bumper accommodation position state of the vehicle body to which the vehicle body front part structure concerning other embodiments of the present invention is applied. It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonally front which shows the movable bumper operation position state of the vehicle body which applied the vehicle body front part structure concerning other embodiments of the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonally front which shows the movable bumper accommodation position state of the vehicle body to which the vehicle body front part structure concerning other embodiments of the present invention is applied. It is the perspective view seen from the vehicle body diagonally front which shows the movable bumper operation position state of the vehicle body which applied the vehicle body front part structure concerning other embodiments of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Auto body 12 Front bumper 14 Bumper cover 20 Movable bumper 22 Bumper reinforcement 24 Front side member 28 Actuator (movable bumper moving means)
30 Control circuit (movable bumper moving means)
32 Vehicle speed detection sensor 42 Movable bumper opening (reaction force reducing means)
44 Ribs

Claims (4)

Bumper reinforcement erected on the front end of the left and right side members,
A storage position that covers the front of the bumper reinforcement; an operating position that is disposed below the storage position and protrudes forward of the vehicle body from the bumper reinforcement; and a movable bumper that is movable to the vehicle.
Have
The vehicle body front structure, wherein the movable bumper is movable from the storage position to the operating position by rotating about a lower end portion of the movable bumper. The movable bumper is held in the storage position when the vehicle speed is low, moved to the operating position when the vehicle speed is medium, and held in the storage position when the vehicle speed is high. The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 1, further comprising a bumper moving means.   The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 1, further comprising movable bumper moving means for predicting a collision of a collision body and moving the movable bumper from the storage position to the operating position.   The vehicle body front part structure according to claim 1, wherein the movable bumper has a reaction force reducing means for reducing a reaction force to the collision body.

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