JP4518263B2 - Vehicle safety device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle safety device provided in a hood that covers an engine room at the front of a vehicle.

  In recent years, when a vehicle collides with an obstacle, a technique has been developed in which the hood that covers the engine room is lifted by a predetermined amount to absorb impact energy at the time of collision against the obstacle by the hood (for example, Patent Document 1, 2).

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 14, the motor 1 is rotated by the control signal from the control device, and the movable plate 2 is moved rearward, whereby the link 3 is raised and the bracket is moved. The rear part of the hood to which the link 3 is connected via 4 is lifted.
Further, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, as shown in FIG. 15, a pair of links 5 connected to each other are connected to a hood bracket 6 and a vehicle body 7 to detect a collision with an obstacle. When the hood is pushed up by the actuator 8, the folded link 5 is rotated and extended so that the hood is lifted.

JP 2003-89362 A JP 2002-37125 A

By the way, in a vehicle equipped with such a safety device, for example, when the hood is lifted by detecting an obstacle sensitively, the lifted hood is lowered to ensure visibility in order to travel to the nearest maintenance station. There is a need to.
For this reason, in the safety device of Patent Document 1, the motor 1 is reversed, the link 3 is moved to lower the hood, and in the safety device of Patent Document 2, the wire 10 is pulled by a separate actuator 9. The hood was lowered by releasing the lock of the extended link 5 and folding it in a U shape.

  As described above, each of the above-described conventional safety devices includes a mechanism having a complicated structure that requires the motor 1 and the separate actuator 9 in order to lower the lifted hood, resulting in an increase in cost. In addition, the motor 1 and the actuator 9 increase the size of the apparatus, and a space for arranging the large apparatus must be provided, which is limited by the space.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle safety device capable of ensuring visibility by lowering a hood at low cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, a vehicle safety device according to the present invention has a rear end side rotatably connected to a vehicle body, and a front end side is locked to the vehicle body in a state of covering the engine room of the vehicle. A safety device for a vehicle provided on a hood and lifting a predetermined amount by pushing up a back surface in the vicinity of the rear end of the hood by detecting an obstacle, and a connecting tool for connecting the rear end of the hood and the vehicle body, The hood can be extended by pushing up the hood by the actuator, and the hood can be locked to the vehicle body at a position moved forward by the extension dimension of the connector.

According to the vehicle safety device configured as described above, when the hood is pushed up by the actuator, the connecting tool extends, and the hood rotates around the locking point with the vehicle body on the front end side so that the rear end side is Since it is lifted, the impact on the obstacle can be reliably absorbed by the lifted hood.
Then, by pulling the hood whose rear end side is lifted forward and locking it to the vehicle body, the hood can be lowered very easily to ensure visibility at the driver's seat.

Further, in the vehicle safety device according to the present invention, the vehicle body includes a hood lock that locks a hook provided on a back surface of the hood to restrict the rotation of the hood, and the hood includes the hook. On the other hand, it is preferable that an emergency hook that can be locked by the hood lock is provided on the rear side of the coupling tool by the substantially extended dimension.
Thus, by pulling the hood whose rear end side is lifted forward, the emergency hook of the hood can be reliably locked by the hood lock on the vehicle body side, and the hood can be maintained in the lowered state.

Furthermore, in the vehicle safety device according to the present invention, the vehicle body includes a hood lock that locks a hook provided on a back surface of the hood to restrict the rotation of the hood, and the connection to the hood lock. It is desirable to provide an emergency hood lock that is provided in front of the substantially extended dimension of the tool and that locks the hook of the hood.
Accordingly, by pulling the hood whose rear end side is lifted forward, the hook of the hood can be reliably locked by the emergency hood lock on the vehicle body side, and the hood can be maintained in the lowered state.

  According to the vehicle safety device of the present invention, since the hood can be locked to the vehicle body at the position moved forward by the extension dimension of the connector, the hood whose rear end is lifted is pulled forward and engaged with the vehicle body. By stopping, the hood can be lowered very easily. That is, a separate mechanism having a complicated structure for lowering the hood can be eliminated, and visibility in the driver's seat can be ensured at low cost and without being limited by space.

Hereinafter, a vehicle safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a side view of a hood portion of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle safety device according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the hood for explaining the structure of the hood, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the vehicle safety device. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a lock mechanism constituting the vehicle safety device, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a joint structure of a fixing bracket and a support bracket of the vehicle safety device, and FIG. 6 is a hood opening / closing operation. It is a side view of the safety device for vehicles explained.

As shown in FIG. 1, a hood 11 that covers the upper part of the engine room is provided at the front of the vehicle S.
The rear end side of the hood 11 is connected to the vehicle body 12 of the vehicle S, and the vehicle safety device 13 according to the present embodiment is provided at this connection portion.
The safety device 13 extends rearward of the hood 11 and is connected to a support bracket 14 of the vehicle body 12, whereby the hood 11 is centered on a pivot P that is a connection point between the safety device 13 and the vehicle body 12. It can be turned.

  The hood 11 has a hook 15 on the back surface on the front side thereof, and the hook 15 is locked to a hood lock 16 provided on the vehicle body 12 side. Accordingly, the rotation of the hood 11 around the pivot P is restricted, and the engine room is maintained in a state covered with the hood 11.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an emergency hook 18 is provided on the back surface of the hood 11 at a position behind the hook 15. The arrangement interval L1 between the emergency hook 18 and the hook 15 is substantially the same as an extension dimension L2 of the safety device 13 which will be described later.

  On the vehicle body 12 side, an explosive-type actuator 17 is provided on the back side in the vicinity of the rear end of the hood 11. The explosive actuator 17 is instantaneously extended by a gas that rapidly expands due to ignition, for example. The actuator 17 is connected to a collision detection sensor (not shown). When the collision detection sensor detects an obstacle on the front side of the vehicle S, a detection signal is transmitted to the actuator 17. Then, the actuator 17 instantaneously extends upward by this detection signal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the safety device 13 includes a coupling tool 21 that is integrally connected and fixed to a fixing bracket 20 that is fixed to the hood 11. In the safety device 13, the end of the connector 21 is rotatably connected to the support bracket 14.
The connector 21 includes a connection bracket 22 and a lock mechanism 23 attached to the connection bracket 22.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lock mechanism 23 includes a rod 24 having an external thread 24 a formed on the outer periphery, a cylinder body 25 in which the rod 24 is inserted, and a lock section 26 provided at an end of the cylinder body 25. And has. A connecting portion 27 is provided at one end portion of the rod 24, and the connecting portion 27 is rotatably connected to the fixed bracket 20 of the hood 11.

  The lock portion 26 has a block 32 in which an insertion hole 32 a into which the rod 24 is inserted is formed. Inside the block 32, a screw piece 34 in which a female screw 34 a is formed on a surface facing the rod 24. The screw piece 34 is urged by a spring 35 toward the insertion direction of the rod 24 into the cylindrical body 25. The block 32 and the screw piece 34 are formed with tapered surfaces 32b and 34b that are gradually inclined toward the center in the insertion direction of the rod 24. Thereby, the taper surfaces 32 b and 34 b are brought into contact with each other by the urging force of the spring 35, whereby the screw piece 34 is pressed toward the rod 24, and the female screw 34 a is screwed to the male screw 24 a of the rod 24.

  In the lock portion 26, the movement of the rod 24 in the insertion direction is restricted by the screw piece 34 screwed into the rod 24. Further, when a force toward the connecting portion 27 is applied to the rod 24 and the screw piece 34 is moved against the urging force of the spring 35, the screw connection between the female screw 34 a of the screw piece 34 and the male screw 24 a of the rod 24 is performed. The state is released, and the rod 24 is moved to the connecting portion 27 side as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting bracket 22 of the connector 21 having the lock mechanism 23 having the above structure and the fixing bracket 20 of the hood 11 are fastened and fixed by a plurality of caulking pins 41.

  When the engine room is opened in the vehicle S provided with the vehicle safety device 13 described above, the hook 15 is unlocked by the hood lock 16, and the tip end side of the hood 11 is lifted in this state. If it does in this way, as shown in FIG. 6, the food | hood 11 will rotate centering on the pivot P which is a connection point with the vehicle body 12. FIG. Thereby, the engine room of the vehicle S is opened. Although the fender F of the vehicle S is disposed above the pivot P, the hood 11 that rotates around the pivot P moves to the upper side without interfering with the fender F at the rear end.

Next, the operation of the safety device 13 will be described.
7 to 10 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the vehicle safety device. FIG. 7 is a side view of the vehicle safety device, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the vehicle safety device, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a side view of a hood portion of a vehicle provided with the vehicle safety device. FIG. 10 is a side view of the front portion of the vehicle provided with the vehicle safety device.

  When an obstacle in front of the vehicle S is detected by the collision detection sensor and an electric signal as the detection signal is transmitted to the actuator 17, the actuator 17 is instantaneously extended, whereby the hood 11 is near the rear end. The back surface is pushed up by the extending actuator 17.

  Thus, the hood 11 pushed up by the actuator 17 is locked to the vehicle body 12 side at the locking point K and the rear end side is connected to the vehicle body 12 side by the pivot P. In the connecting tool 21, the turning force of the actuator 17 generates a turning force centering on the connecting portion between the connecting portion 27 of the rod 24 and the fixed bracket 20. Then, the hood 11 is pulled backward by the amount of play of the engagement between the hook 15 and the hood lock 16 at the engagement point K, whereby the fixed bracket 20 and the connection bracket 22 of the connection tool 21 are connected to the connection portion 27. And the caulking pin 41 joining them is broken.

  When the caulking pin 41 is broken, as shown in FIG. 7, the fixing bracket 20 and the connection bracket 22 are bent around the connection portion 27, and the connection portion 27 is separated from the connection tool 21. As a result, the screwed state between the female screw 34a of the screw piece 34 and the male screw 24a of the rod 24 in the lock portion 26 is released, and the rod 24 is pulled out from the cylindrical body 25 as shown in FIG. To do.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the hood 11 is rotated around the locking point K between the hook 15 and the hood lock 16 and the rear end side is lifted by a predetermined amount.
When the hood 11 is lifted in this way, a large space is formed below the hood 11, whereby the lifted hood 11 receives and absorbs the impact while deforming the obstacle that collides. In addition, the influence of the impact of the obstacle riding on the hood 11 is suppressed as much as possible.

Next, the case where the lifted hood 11 is lowered will be described.
FIGS. 11 to 13 are diagrams for explaining the lowering operation of the hood. FIGS. 11 and 12 are side views of the front portion of the vehicle equipped with the vehicle safety device, and FIG. 13 is the vehicle safety device. It is a side view in the hood part of the vehicle provided with.
In the vehicle equipped with the safety device 13, for example, when an obstacle is detected sensitively and the hood 11 is lifted, the lifted hood 11 is lowered to ensure visibility in order to travel to the nearest maintenance station. There is a need.

In this case, the driver first unlocks the hook 15 by the hood lock 16 in front of the vehicle S and releases the restraint on the front side of the hood 11.
In this state, the driver pulls the hood 11 forward of the vehicle S as shown in FIG. If it does in this way, the connection tool 21 of the safety device 13 which stood up and down will be pulled down to the front side while rotating around the pivot P, and the rear end side of the hood 11 that has been lifted will be lowered. 11 is pulled forward by the extension dimension L2 of the connector 21 (see FIG. 8).

Further, the emergency hook 18 of the hood 11 is arranged above the hood lock 16 by the hood 11 being pulled forward.
When the driver presses the hood 11 toward the vehicle body 12 in this state, the emergency hook 18 of the hood 11 is locked to the hood lock 16 of the vehicle body 12 as shown in FIGS. Is fixed to the vehicle body 12.

  As described above, according to the vehicle safety device according to the above embodiment, since the hood 11 can be locked to the vehicle body 12 at the position moved forward by the extension dimension L2 of the connector 21, the rear end The hood 11 can be lowered very easily by releasing the locked state of the front side of the hood 11 whose side is lifted, and pulling the hood 11 forward and locking it to the vehicle body 12 again. That is, a separate mechanism having a complicated structure for lowering the hood 11 can be eliminated, and the emergency hook 18 that can be locked to the hood lock 16 is simply provided on the hood 11 at a low cost. Visibility in the driver's seat can be ensured without space limitations.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the connector 21 that can be extended in one direction has been described as an example. However, the structure of the connector 21 is not limited to this. Of course there may be.

  In the above example, the emergency hook 18 is provided on the hood 11. However, the emergency hood lock that can lock the hook 15 in the state where the lifted hood 11 is pulled forward is attached to the hood lock 16. Further, the connecting tool 21 may be provided on the front side by the substantially extension dimension L2. In this case, the positions of the hook 15 and the hood lock 16 for fixing the hood 11 to the vehicle body 12 in a normal state need to be arranged on the rear side.

  As described above, the vehicle safety device according to the present invention is useful when the lifted hood is easily lowered to ensure visibility.

It is a side view in the food | hood part of the vehicle provided with the vehicle safety device which concerns on this embodiment. It is a reverse view of the food | hood explaining the structure of food | hood. It is a side view of a vehicle safety device. It is sectional drawing of the lock mechanism which comprises the vehicle safety device. It is sectional drawing which shows the joining structure of the fixing bracket and support bracket of a vehicle safety device. It is a side view of the safety device for vehicles explaining opening and closing operation of a hood. It is a side view explaining operation | movement of the vehicle safety device. It is a perspective view explaining operation | movement of the vehicle safety device. It is a side view in the front part of a vehicle explaining operation of a vehicle safety device. It is a side view in the food | hood part of the vehicle explaining the operation | movement of the vehicle safety device. It is a side view in the front part of the vehicle provided with the vehicle safety device. It is a side view in the front part of the vehicle provided with the vehicle safety device. It is a side view in the food | hood part of the vehicle provided with the vehicle safety device. It is a sectional side view explaining the conventional vehicle safety device. It is a sectional side view explaining the other conventional safety device for vehicles.

Explanation of symbols

11 Hood 12 Car body 13 Vehicle safety device 16 Hood lock 17 Actuator 18 Emergency hook 21 Connector S Vehicle

Claims (3)

The rear end side of the hood is pivotally connected to the vehicle body, and the front end side is provided on a hood that is locked to the vehicle body in a state of covering the engine room of the vehicle. Is a vehicle safety device that pushes up by a actuator and lifts it by a predetermined amount,
A connector for connecting the rear end of the hood and the vehicle body can be extended by pushing up the hood by the actuator,
The vehicular safety device according to claim 1, wherein the hood can be locked to the vehicle body at a position moved forward by a substantially extended dimension of the connector. The vehicle safety device according to claim 1,
The vehicle body includes a hood lock that locks a hook provided on a back surface of the hood and restricts the rotation of the hood, and the hood is rearward of the hook by a substantially extended dimension. An emergency hook that can be locked by the hood lock is provided on the side. The vehicle safety device according to claim 1,
The vehicle body is provided with a hood lock that locks a hook provided on the back surface of the hood to restrict the rotation of the hood, and is provided forward of the hood lock by a substantially extended dimension of the connector. A vehicle safety device comprising an emergency hood lock for locking a hood hook.

Images