JP5560130B2 - End caps and exterior beams for exterior beams for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an end cap and an exterior beam of a vehicle exterior beam that covers an end of an exterior beam such as a bumper disposed in a vehicle.

  In general vehicles such as trucks having a high vehicle height, a bumper is provided below the vehicle in order to prevent a car from falling when a low vehicle height collides. This bumper is formed in a square tube shape with steel or aluminum alloy or the like, and for the purpose of ensuring safety, as shown in Patent Document 1, both ends of the opening are made of resin cover members (end caps). ) Is known.

The end cap of patent document 1 is formed in the box shape provided with the surrounding wall which covers the outer wall near the opening edge part of a bumper main body, and the bottom wall which opposes the end surface of an opening edge part, The opening edge part of a bumper main body is formed. The rivet is inserted into a rivet hole provided in the peripheral wall and the bumper body so as to be closed. The end cap is provided with a protrusion that can be deformed in contact with the end face of the bumper body in the vicinity of the corner between the peripheral wall and the bottom wall.
When the end cap is pushed over the opening end of the bumper main body and pushed in, the protrusion comes into contact with the end surface of the bumper main body and deforms. Thus, by pushing the bumper body while deforming the protrusion, the end surface is pressed by the protrusion, and the end cap can be fixed to the bumper body without play (backlash).

JP 2006-137363 A

  However, since the above-mentioned end cap has a shape covering the outer wall of the opening end portion of the bumper body, the end cap protrudes outside, and interferes with peripheral members, resulting in poor space efficiency. Further, since the protruding end cap has a large air resistance and needs to be firmly attached so that it does not come off while the vehicle is running, it is necessary to increase the rigidity of the end cap itself. For this reason, it tends to increase in size.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has an end cap for a vehicle exterior beam that can be reliably fixed to a bumper body with a simple configuration that reduces the amount of protrusion to the outside, and uses the same. Provide the exterior beam that was.

The end cap of the exterior beam for a vehicle according to the present invention has an inner surface of a plate-like cover member that closes an end surface of the opening end portion of the bumper body, and at least a pair of rib portions extending inside the bumper body in the width direction of the cover member. An end cap provided at an interval and having a rivet hole for inserting a rivet to be fastened to the bumper body at the tip of the rib portion, wherein the pair of rib portions is formed by gradually increasing the interval from the base. A pair of ribs, and a pair of ribs having a rivet hole formed in the fixed portion. The parts are connected to each other by a strip-shaped connecting part at the lower end part .

The end cap of the exterior beam for a vehicle formed in this way has a rib portion inserted into the bumper body and a cover member formed in a plate shape, so there are few parts protruding outside the bumper body, and peripheral parts And is space efficient.
In addition, since there are few protruding parts as a whole, air resistance can be reduced, the bumper body and the end cap can be securely fixed, and the end cap itself does not need to have a rigid structure. It can be made thinner and has excellent cost performance.

  In addition, as a strength requirement required for a truck bumper, a collision characteristic corresponding to the total vehicle weight is set, and a vehicle body with a heavier vehicle total weight needs to be designed with a stronger bumper body strength. Therefore, in order to optimize the collision characteristics of the truck bumper according to the total weight of each vehicle, it may be required to respond by changing the wall thickness without changing the outer shape of the bumper body. The rib portion formed as described above can be attached by causing the elastic leg portion to be elastically deformed and the fixing portion being closely attached to the inner wall of the bumper body, so that it can also be used for various bumper bodies having different thicknesses. be able to.

For example, when the thickness of the bumper main body is thick, the rib portions facing each other are pushed in a direction approaching each other and inserted into the bumper main body. When one of the opposing rib portions is fixed to the inner wall of the bumper body with a rivet and fixed, a moment is generated at the inwardly bent portion, and the moment of the cover member close to the other rib portion is generated by the moment. The edge is pressed against the end face of the bumper body, and the movement of the end cap is restricted.
Therefore, even if only one side of the rib portion is fixed with rivets and the opposite side is not fixed, the inner surface of the cover member can be held in close contact with the end surface of the bumper body, and the bumper body and end The cap can be securely fixed.
Also, if the bumper body is thin, fixing the bumper body and rib part with rivets will cause the rib part to be pulled by the rivets, and moment will be generated at the base part of the rib part. Therefore, the cover member can be securely fixed by being brought into close contact with the end surface of the bumper body.
Even in this case, as in the case where the thickness of the bumper body is thick, even if only one side of the rib portion is fixed with a rivet and the other side is not fixed, the opposite side is caused by the elastic deformation of the rib portion on one side. The edge of the cover member close to the rib portion on the side is drawn toward the end surface of the bumper body, and the end cap can be held in close contact.

Further, by providing a connecting portion for connecting the re blanking portions, it is possible to increase the rigidity of the width direction of the cover member. As a result, as described above, the moment generated when one rib portion is fixed to the bumper body is reliably transmitted to the other rib portion, and the cover member of the end cap is reliably lifted from the end surface of the bumper body. Can be prevented.

And in the end cap of the exterior beam for vehicles of this invention, it is good for the said rivet hole to be formed with the long hole extended in the length direction of the said rib part.
In this case, even when the rib portion is elastically deformed and the mounting position with respect to the bumper main body is somewhat shifted, the rib portion can be reliably fixed.

  The vehicle exterior beam according to the present invention is configured such that the end caps are attached to the opening end portions of both ends of a cylindrical bumper body, and the end cap covers the end surface of the opening end portion of the end cap. In addition, the fixing portion of the rib portion is fixed by a rivet penetrating the rivet hole and the bumper body.

  According to the present invention, the elastically deformable rib portion is inserted into the bumper main body, and the end cap can be attached to the bumper main body, but can be attached to various bumper main bodies having different wall thicknesses. In addition, the amount of protrusion of the end cap to the outside can be reduced, and the bumper body and the end cap can be securely fixed.

It is a perspective view of the end cap of this embodiment. It is a perspective view of the bumper of this embodiment. It is a figure explaining a bumper main part. It is a figure explaining attachment of the bumper main body and end cap of the wall thickness of a reference | standard dimension. It is a figure explaining attachment of a thick bumper main body and an end cap, (a) shows before fixing and (b) shows after fixing. It is a figure explaining attachment with a thin bumper main body and an end cap.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a vehicular exterior beam of the present invention is applied to a bumper will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 2, the bumper 200 of the present embodiment is configured by attaching end caps 100 that close the end surfaces to the opening end portions of both ends of a bumper main body 101 formed in a rectangular tube shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bumper body 101 is formed in a rectangular tube shape by extrusion molding of an aluminum alloy or the like, and is formed to have a length comparable to the width dimension of the vehicle to be attached. Rivet holes 110 into which rivets 102 for fixing the end cap 100 are inserted are provided in the opening end portions 101a at both ends.
The rivet holes 110 are provided only on the peripheral walls facing the bumper body 101 in the width direction, and two rivet holes 110 are formed on each peripheral wall.

The end cap 100 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and has a rectangular plate-like cover member 1 that is substantially the same as the outer shape of the end surface 101b of the bumper main body 101, and the end surface 101b of the bumper main body 101 by the cover member 1. Are formed integrally with two pairs of ribs 2 that extend into the bumper main body 101.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, each pair of rib portions 2 is provided on the inner surface of the cover member 1 at intervals in the width direction. And the rib part 2 is comprised by the elastic leg part 22 formed gradually widening from the root, and the fixing | fixed part 24 integrally formed in the front-end | tip of this elastic leg part 22 via the inward bending part 23 In the fixing portion 24, a rivet hole 21 into which the rivet 102 is inserted is formed by an elongated hole extending in the length direction of the rib portion 2.
Further, the lower ends of the pair of rib portions 2 are connected to each other by a strip-like connecting portion 3 extending in the width direction integrally provided on the inner surface of the cover member 1. While preventing itself from being broken and broken, the rigidity of the cover member 1 in the width direction is increased.

1 and 4 are formed so as to protrude from the inner surface of the cover member 1 and are formed in a pair apart from each other in the length direction of the cover member 1. In such a case, it enters the inner space of the bumper body 101 and is aligned in the length direction.
Further, in order to facilitate the insertion of the rib portion 2 into the bumper main body 101, an inclined surface 25 is formed at the tip portion of the outer surface of the fixing portion 24.

The end cap 100 configured as described above is fixed to the bumper body 101 as follows.
In addition, the bumper main body 101 has a plurality of types having different wall thicknesses t without changing the external dimensions (height H and width W shown in FIG. 3). With the above-described configuration, the bumper body having various thicknesses is formed.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, a description will be given on the basis of a case where the dimension between the outer surfaces of the fixed portion 24 and the dimension between the inner walls of the bumper body 101 are formed with substantially the same size. Hereinafter, the thickness dimension of the bumper body 101 in this case is set as a reference dimension.
When the rib portion 2 is inserted into the opening end portion 101a of the bumper main body 101 and the end surface 101b of the bumper main body 101 and the cover member 1 are brought into close contact with each other, the rivet hole 110 on the bumper main body 101 side and the rivet hole 21 on the rib portion 2 are obtained. Are arranged opposite to each other. In this state, the rivet 102 is inserted from the outside of the bumper body 101, and the bumper body 101 and the bumper end cap 100 are fixed.
At this time, the fixing portion 24 of the rib portion 2 is fixed in close contact with the inner wall of the bumper body 101 by the rivet 102. Since the rib portion 2 is provided so as to be elastically deformable by the elastic leg portion 22, it can be brought into close contact with the inner wall of the bumper body 101 without any play and can be securely fixed.

Next, the case where the thickness of the bumper body is thicker than the reference dimension and the dimension between the inner walls of the bumper body to which the rib portion 2 of the end cap 100 is fixed will be described.
When the thickness of the bumper main body 111 is thick, when the rib portion 2 is inserted into the bumper main body 111, the opposing rib portions 2 are changed from the state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5A to the state indicated by the solid line. The elastic legs 22 are elastically deformed by being pushed in directions approaching each other.
When one fixing portion 24 (right side in the drawing) of the opposing rib portions 2 is brought into close contact with the inner wall of the bumper body 111 with the rivet 102 and fixed as shown by the solid line in FIG. A moment is generated clockwise in the rib portion 2 on the right side of FIG. 5B around the direction bent portion 23, and the edge of the cover member 1 close to the other rib portion 2 is caused by the moment by the arrow A. As shown, the end cap 100 is pressed against the end surface 111b of the bumper body 111 to restrict the movement of the end cap 100 itself.
Therefore, even if the other rib portion 2 is not fixed by the rivet 102, the inner surface of the cover member 1 can be held in close contact with the end surface 111b of the bumper main body 111, and the bumper main body 111, the end cap 100, Can be securely fixed.

Next, the case where the thickness of the bumper body is thinner than the reference dimension and the dimension between the inner walls of the bumper body is wider than the reference will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, when the bumper body 121 is thin, the fixing portion 24 of the rib portion 2 is pulled by the rivet 102 by fixing the bumper body 121 and the rib portion 2 with the rivet 102. The elastic leg 22 is fixed by elastic deformation.
Also at this time, a moment is generated at the base portion of the rib portion 2, and the base cover member 1 is brought into close contact with the end surface 121 b of the bumper main body 121. Thereby, the bumper main body 121 and the end cap 100 can be reliably fixed.
In this case, even if only one rib portion 2 of the opposing rib portions 2 is fixed by the rivet 102 and the other rib portion 2 is not fixed, the other rib portion 2 is elastically deformed. The edge part of the cover member 1 close to the part 2 is attracted to the end surface 121b, and the end cap 100 can be reliably adhered.

Further, when the end caps with low rigidity of the cover member 1 are attached to the bumper bodies 111 and 121 having different thicknesses, the center portion of the cover member 1 is drawn into the bumper body due to the moment described above, and the cover Although it is feared that the edge of the member 1 is lifted from the end surface of the bumper body, the end cap 100 of the present embodiment is provided with the connecting portion 3 that connects the rib portions 2 to each other. Directional rigidity is high, and deformation is suppressed.
Therefore, the moment generated when the rib portion 2 is fixed to the bumper main body can be reliably transmitted to the other rib portion, and the cover member of the end cap can be reliably prevented from rising from the end surface of the bumper main body.

  The rib portion 2 is attached to the bumper main bodies 111 and 121 having different thicknesses compared to the case where the rib portions 2 are attached to the bumper main body 101 having the reference dimensions. The height position of the fixing portion 24 of the rib portion 2 is changed, and the positional relationship with the rivet hole 110 is slightly shifted. However, since the rivet hole 21 is formed as a long hole, the rivet 102 is securely attached in any case. Can be inserted and fixed.

As described above, in the end cap of the present embodiment, since the rib portion is provided so as to be elastically deformable, the rib portion can be securely attached to the bumper body and attached to various bumper bodies having different thicknesses. Can also respond.
The end cap thus formed has a plate-like cover member, and the rib portion is inserted into the bumper main body, so that there are few portions protruding outside the bumper main body and interferes with peripheral components. There is nothing and space efficiency is good.
In addition, since there are few protruding parts as a whole, air resistance can be reduced, the bumper body and the end cap can be securely fixed, and the end cap itself does not need to have a rigid structure. It can be made thinner and has excellent cost performance.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the thing of the structure of the said embodiment, In a detailed structure, a various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the vehicle exterior beam is applied to the bumper has been described. However, the exterior beam can also be applied to a side guard or the like provided on the side of the vehicle.
In addition, the bumper main body may be made of not only an aluminum alloy but also other materials such as steel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cover member 2 Rib part 3 Connection part 4 Claw part 21 Rivet hole 22 Elastic leg part 23 Inward bending part 24 Fixing part 25 Inclined surface 100 End cap 101,111,121 Bumper main body 101a Open end part 101b, 111b, 121b End surface 102 Rivet 110 Rivet hole 200 Bumper

Claims (3)

At least a pair of rib portions extending inside the bumper main body are provided on the inner surface of the plate-like cover member that closes the end surface of the opening end portion of the bumper main body at intervals in the width direction of the cover member. An end cap in which a rivet hole for inserting a rivet to be fastened to the bumper body is formed, wherein the pair of rib portions are formed with an elastic leg portion that is gradually widened from the base, and an elastic leg portion of the elastic leg portion. A fixed portion integrally formed at the tip via an inwardly bent portion, the rivet hole is formed in the fixed portion, and the pair of rib portions are connected in a band plate shape at the lower end portion The end cap of the exterior beam for vehicles characterized by the above-mentioned. End cap of the vehicle exterior beam according to claim 1, wherein the rivet holes are formed in a long hole extending in the longitudinal direction of the rib portion. The end cap according to claim 1 or 2 is attached to open end portions of both ends of a cylindrical bumper body, and the end cap is configured such that the cover member closes an end surface of the open end portion. The vehicle exterior beam is characterized in that the fixing portion of the rib portion is fixed by a rivet penetrating the rivet hole and the bumper body.

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