JP6994994B2 - Vehicle safety device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle safety device installed in a vehicle and mainly for the purpose of protecting pedestrians in an emergency.

A so-called hood lifter is known as a vehicle safety device. This is a shock absorber that uses the lifted vehicle hood as a shock absorber when a so-called secondary collision occurs in which the vehicle hood is flipped up when a pedestrian collides with the vehicle and then the head of the pedestrian collides with the vehicle hood. ) To alleviate the impact on pedestrians (for example, Patent Document 1).

The vehicle safety device described in Patent Document 1 includes a link mechanism connected between the vehicle hood and the vehicle body, and an actuator for operating the link mechanism. The link mechanism reciprocates the vehicle hood between the retracted position and the flip-up position with respect to the vehicle body.

The actuator includes a screw shaft connected to the output shaft of the motor, a nut portion screwed to the screw shaft, a slider fixed to the nut portion, and a slide pin protruding from the slider. The slide pin is inserted into the slide groove formed in the link mechanism.

In the actuator, when the motor rotates, the screw shaft rotates and the nut portion moves along the screw shaft. Then, the slider moves with the movement of the nut portion, whereby the slide pin of the slider slides in the slide groove of the link mechanism. As a result, in this vehicle safety device, the link mechanism is operated by the actuator, and the vehicle hood can be flipped up.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-182511

In the vehicle safety device, for example, before the pedestrian's head collides with the vehicle hood, sufficient space is secured between the vehicle hood and the vehicle body located below the pedestrian hood to mitigate the impact caused by the secondary collision. It is important to. In other words, in order to mitigate the impact of a secondary collision and protect pedestrians, it is necessary to quickly flip up the vehicle hood.

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the link mechanism is driven by the rotation of the motor, it is considered difficult to quickly flip up the vehicle hood in an emergency.

Here, it is conceivable to use an actuator using gunpowder or the like instead of the above actuator to quickly flip up the vehicle hood in an emergency. However, it is difficult to improve the flip-up speed of the vehicle hood by simply changing the actuator.

The problems when using an actuator are as follows. That is, when the vehicle hood is flipped up, for example, due to the influence of the weight of the vehicle hood and the acceleration caused by the flipping up, the members constituting the vehicle safety device are deformed, and the drive member of the actuator makes point contact with the deformed member. there's a possibility that. When the drive member of the actuator makes point contact with another member, the transmission efficiency of the force accompanying the drive of the actuator is impaired, and the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up is reduced. For example, in Patent Document 1, no measures are taken for the point that the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up decreases due to the point contact between the members.

In view of such problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle safety device capable of improving the speed at which a vehicle hood is flipped up and enhancing pedestrian protection performance.

In order to solve the above problems, a typical configuration of the vehicle safety device according to the present invention is an arm that supports the vehicle hood in the vehicle safety device, and is rotatable on the vehicle hood and the vehicle body, respectively. A mounting arm, a pin protruding from the arm, and an actuator mounted on the vehicle hood that includes a wedge-shaped drive member that drives along the underside of the vehicle hood, where the drive member is the gap between the underside of the vehicle hood and the pin. It has an actuator that lifts the vehicle hood by entering and widening the gap, and a guide member attached to the vehicle hood, which has an upper surface located above the pin and two side surfaces through which the pin penetrates. Has a long slot formed in the vertical direction, and a guide member that guides the pin away from the lower surface of the vehicle hood by widening the gap, and a pin attached to the arm and located inside the side surface of the guide member. A support portion that supports both ends of the pin and a connecting portion that bridges and connects the support portions below the pin are provided, and the width of the driving member is smaller than the width of the connecting portion, whereby the wedge of the driving member is provided. It is characterized in that the driving member does not make point contact with the support portion when one inclined guide surface constituting the shape is in contact with the pin.

According to the above configuration, when the drive member of the actuator attached to the vehicle hood is driven, the guide surface of the drive member comes into contact with the pin protruding from the arm. On the other hand, the pin exerts a force on the guide surface. As a result, as the pin moves along the slot on the side surface of the guide member, the guide member is separated upward from the pin. Then, the arm supporting the vehicle hood rotates to lift the vehicle hood and separate it from the vehicle body.

That is, the vehicle safety device is installed between the vehicle hood and the vehicle body, and the actuator drives the drive member, so that the vehicle hood can be flipped upward. The vehicle safety device alleviates a secondary collision in which a pedestrian collides with the vehicle and then the pedestrian's head or the like collides with the vehicle hood. In the vehicle safety device, the vehicle hood is flipped up to secure a space between the vehicle hood and the vehicle body located below it, and the vehicle hood functions as a shock absorber (shock absorber) to provide a secondary function. Mitigates the impact of a collision.

However, the effect of the present invention is not merely to mitigate the impact of the secondary collision, but to quickly flip up the vehicle hood. When the vehicle hood is flipped up, for example, due to the weight of the vehicle hood and the influence of the acceleration caused by the flipping up, the support portion and the connecting portion of the arm supporting the pin may be deformed, and the drive member may make point contact with the support portion. There is sex. When such point contact occurs, the transmission efficiency of the force associated with the driving of the driving member is impaired, and the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up is reduced. As a result, for example, by the time the pedestrian's head collides with the vehicle hood, sufficient space cannot be secured under the vehicle hood, and the impact due to the secondary collision may not be sufficiently mitigated.

On the other hand, in the above configuration according to the present invention, the width of the drive member is smaller than the width of the connecting portion, and a gap can be secured between the drive member and the support portion. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the above-mentioned point contact when the guide surface is in contact with the pin, that is, when the vehicle hood is flipped up.

Therefore, according to the vehicle safety device, the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up can be improved, and the pedestrian protection performance can be enhanced. Further, since the width of the drive member of the actuator can be reduced to improve the flip-up speed of the vehicle hood, for example, a large actuator having a high output becomes unnecessary, and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

The drive member may have a contact portion that comes into surface contact with the upper surface of the guide member, and the width of the contact portion may be larger than the width of the portion of the drive member other than the contact portion.

As a result, even if the support portion and the connecting portion of the arm supporting the pin are deformed when the guide surface of the drive member is in contact with the pin, that is, when the vehicle hood is flipped up, the contact portion is surfaced on the upper surface of the guide member. Since they are in contact with each other, the drive member does not make point contact with the upper surface of the guide member. Therefore, the drive member does not make point contact not only with the support portion of the arm but also with the upper surface of the guide member. Therefore, in the above configuration, the transmission efficiency of the force associated with the driving of the driving member is further improved, and the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up can be further increased.

In order to solve the above problems, another typical configuration of the vehicle safety device according to the present invention is an arm that supports the vehicle hood in the vehicle safety device, and rotates around the vehicle hood and the vehicle body, respectively. A freely mounted arm, a pin protruding from the arm, and an actuator mounted on the vehicle hood, including a wedge-shaped drive member that drives along the lower surface of the vehicle hood, the drive member being the lower surface and pin of the vehicle hood. It has an actuator that lifts the vehicle hood by entering the gap and widens the gap, and a guide member attached to the vehicle hood, which has an upper surface located above the pin and two side surfaces through which the pin penetrates. A long slot is formed on one side surface in the vertical direction, and the slot guides the pin away from the lower surface of the vehicle hood by widening the gap, and the guide member attached to the arm and located inside the side surface of the guide member. A support portion that supports both ends of the pin and a connecting portion that is located below the pin and bridges and connects the support portions are provided, and the width of the drive member is smaller than the width of the connecting portion, whereby the drive member is provided. When one inclined guide surface constituting the wedge shape is in contact with the pin, the drive member does not make point contact with the support portion, and the guide surface is further inclined with respect to the width direction of the drive member and faces the pin. It is characterized by having an inclined surface in contact with it.

According to the above configuration, when the drive member of the actuator attached to the vehicle hood is driven, the guide surface of the drive member comes into contact with the pin protruding from the arm. On the other hand, the pin exerts a force on the guide surface. As a result, as the pin moves along the slot on the side surface of the guide member, the guide member is separated upward from the pin. Then, the arm supporting the vehicle hood rotates to lift the vehicle hood and separate it from the vehicle body.

That is, the vehicle safety device is installed between the vehicle hood and the vehicle body, and the actuator drives the drive member, so that the vehicle hood can be flipped upward. The vehicle safety device alleviates a secondary collision in which a pedestrian collides with the vehicle and then the pedestrian's head or the like collides with the vehicle hood. In the vehicle safety device, the vehicle hood is flipped up to secure a space between the vehicle hood and the vehicle body located below the vehicle hood, and to mitigate the impact caused by the secondary collision.

However, the effect of the present invention is not merely to mitigate the impact of the secondary collision, but to quickly flip up the vehicle hood. When the vehicle hood is flipped up, for example, due to the weight of the vehicle hood and the influence of the acceleration caused by the flipping up, the support portion and the connecting portion of the arm supporting the pin may be deformed, and the drive member may make point contact with the support portion. There is sex. In addition, the pins may tilt due to the deformation of the arm supports and connections. In this case, the guide surface of the drive member makes point contact with the inclined pin.

When such point contact occurs, the transmission efficiency of the force associated with the driving of the driving member is impaired, and the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up is reduced. As a result, for example, by the time the pedestrian's head collides with the vehicle hood, sufficient space cannot be secured under the vehicle hood, and the impact due to the secondary collision may not be sufficiently mitigated.

On the other hand, in the above configuration according to the present invention, the width of the drive member is smaller than the width of the connecting portion, and a gap can be secured between the drive member and the support portion. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to prevent the drive member from making point contact with the support portion of the arm when the guide surface is in contact with the pin, that is, when the vehicle hood is flipped up. Further, since the guide surface has an inclined surface that comes into surface contact with the inclined pin, it is possible to prevent point contact with the inclined pin.

Therefore, according to the vehicle safety device, the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up can be improved, and the pedestrian protection performance can be enhanced. In addition, by reducing the width of the drive member of the actuator and forming an inclined surface on the guide surface, the flip-up speed of the vehicle hood can be improved, so that a large actuator with high output is not required, and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Can be done.

The above-mentioned inclined surface is one of two surfaces in which the guide surface is divided by a ridge line extending in the vehicle front-rear direction at the center in the vehicle width direction, and the two surfaces may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the ridge line. ..

As a result, since the guide surface has two surfaces symmetrically arranged with respect to the ridgeline, when the vehicle safety device is arranged on one side in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle hood, one surface is formed. It becomes an inclined surface that comes into surface contact with the inclined pin, and the other surface does not come into contact with the pin. Further, when the vehicle safety device is arranged on the other side of the vehicle hood, the other surface becomes an inclined surface that comes into surface contact with the inclined pin, and one surface does not come into contact with the pin. Therefore, the drive member having this guide surface becomes a component that can be commonly used when the vehicle safety device is arranged on both sides of the vehicle hood in the vehicle width direction, and the number of components can be reduced.

The inclined surface may be formed except for the front end portion of the guide surface. Here, in the state where the front end portion of the guide surface is in contact with the pin, that is, in the initial stage of flipping up the vehicle hood, the support portion and the connecting portion of the arm supporting the pin are not deformed. Therefore, in the initial stage, it is highly possible that the pin is not inclined, and even if the inclined surface is not formed at the front end of the guide surface, the guide surface does not make point contact with the pin and drives the drive member. The power transmission efficiency associated with this is not impaired.

The above-mentioned inclined surface is formed in the intermediate portion excluding the front end portion and the rear end portion of the guide surface, and the inclined surface has the largest inclination angle near the center among the intermediate portions, and is near the front end portion and the rear end portion. Should be the smallest. Here, in the state where the front end portion and the rear end portion of the guide surface are in contact with the pin, that is, in the initial stage and the final stage of flipping up the vehicle hood, the support portion and the connecting portion of the arm supporting the pin are not deformed. Therefore, in the initial stage and the final stage, the pin is likely not tilted and the guide surface does not make point contact with the pin.

Further, the pin is likely to be tilted when the intermediate portion of the guide surface is in contact with the pin. It is considered that the inclination angle of the pin is the largest when the pin comes into contact with the vicinity of the center of the middle portion of the guide surface, and becomes smaller when the pin comes into contact with the pin other than the vicinity of the center. In the above configuration, since the inclination angle of the inclined surface of the guide surface is changed according to the inclination of the pin, the guide surface does not make point contact with the pin. Therefore, according to the above configuration, when the vehicle hood is flipped up, the force transmission efficiency associated with the driving of the driving member is not impaired.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle safety device capable of improving the speed at which the vehicle hood is flipped up and enhancing the pedestrian protection performance.

It is a figure which shows a part of the vehicle to which the vehicle safety device in embodiment of this invention is applied. FIG. 1 (a) is an enlarged view showing the vehicle safety device of FIG. 1 (a). FIG. 1 (b) is an enlarged view showing the vehicle safety device of FIG. 1 (b). 2 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional shape of the vehicle safety device of FIGS. 2 and 3. It is a graph which shows the lift amount of the vehicle hood by the vehicle safety device of FIG. It is a figure which shows the change of the position with the lift of the vehicle hood by the vehicle safety device of FIG. 1 schematically. It is a figure which shows the safety device for a vehicle of the comparative example. It is a figure which shows the safety device for other vehicles. It is a figure which shows the state which the drive member of the vehicle safety device of FIG. 1 and a pin come into contact with each other. It is a figure which shows the shape of the drive member of FIG. It is a figure which shows the shape of the 1st drive member. It is a figure which shows the state which the drive member of FIG. 11 comes into contact with a pin. It is a figure which shows the shape of the 2nd drive member. It is a figure which shows the shape of the 3rd drive member. It is a figure which shows the shape of the 4th drive member.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiment are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are designated by the same reference numerals to omit duplicate explanations, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown. do.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a part of a vehicle to which the vehicle safety device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1A shows a normal state in which the vehicle hood 102 covers the engine room 104. FIG. 1B shows the lift state of the vehicle hood 102. In the lift state, the rear end 108 on the front window glass 106 side of the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up by the vehicle safety device 100 with the hood lock mechanism located at the front end of the vehicle hood 102 (not shown) as a fulcrum. Refers to the state.

The vehicle safety device 100 alleviates a secondary collision in which a pedestrian collides with a vehicle and then a pedestrian's head or the like collides with the vehicle hood 102, and the vehicle safety device 100 and the lower surface 108a of the rear end portion 108 of the vehicle hood 102. It is installed between the vehicle body 110 and the vehicle body 110. The vehicle body 110 may be an appropriate rigid body such as a chassis that is arranged near the engine room 104 and constitutes the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the vehicle safety device 100 secures a space 112 between the vehicle hood 102 and the engine room 104 located below the vehicle hood 102 by flipping up the vehicle hood 102, and is secondary. Mitigates the impact of a collision. Further, in the vehicle safety device 100, the space 112 can be used to deploy an airbag (not shown) for pedestrian protection to improve pedestrian protection performance.

In the figure, only the vehicle safety device 100 installed at the rear end 108 on the right side of the vehicle hood 102 is shown, but another vehicle safety device (not shown) is also installed on the left side of the vehicle hood 102. ing. However, since the other vehicle safety device has a symmetrical configuration with the vehicle safety device 100, the description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, the vehicle safety device 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the vehicle safety device 100 of FIG. 1 (a). FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the vehicle safety device 100 of FIG. 1 (b). In FIGS. 2 and 3, the front side of the paper is the inside of the vehicle, the back side of the paper is the outside of the vehicle, and the arrow X indicates the rear side of the vehicle. 2 (a) and 3 (a) show a state in which the vehicle safety device 100 of FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b) is viewed from the inside of the vehicle, respectively. 2 (b) and 3 (b) show a part of the vehicle safety device 100 of FIGS. 2 (a) and 3 (a) in cross section, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional shape of the vehicle safety device 100 of FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 4, the front side of the paper is the rear side of the vehicle, the back side of the paper is the front side of the vehicle, and the arrow Y indicates the outside of the vehicle. 4 (a) and 4 (c) show cross sections along the lines AA shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 3 (a). The lines AA are also shown in FIGS. 2 (b) and 3 (b) for convenience. FIG. 4B shows a cross section of a state (intermediate state) in which the vehicle hood 102 is in the middle from the normal state to the lift state.

The vehicle safety device 100 includes an arm 112 that supports the vehicle hood 102, a pin 114 that protrudes from the arm 112, and a guide member 116 and an actuator 118 that are attached to the vehicle hood 102. The rear end portion 112a of the arm 112 is rotatably attached to the base member 122 via the hinge 120. The base member 122 is fixed to the vehicle body 110 such as a chassis. The front end portion 112b of the arm 112 is rotatably attached to the guide member 116 via the hinge pivot 124.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the actuator 118 includes, for example, a cylindrical housing 126, an ignition device (squib 128) arranged in the housing 126 for igniting explosives, and a drive member 130. The drive member 130 includes a wedge-shaped protrusion 132 that is partially inserted into the housing 126 and protrudes outside the housing 126.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the guide member 116 has an upper surface 134 located above the pin 114 and two side surfaces 136a and 136b through which the pin 114 penetrates. As shown in FIG. 2A, the side surfaces 136a and 136b are formed with slots 138 that are long in the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the arm 112 includes support portions 140a and 140b and a connecting portion 142. The support portions 140a and 140b are located inside the side surfaces 136a and 136b of the guide member 116 and support both ends of the pin 114. The connecting portion 142 is located below the pin 114 and bridges and connects the support portions 140a and 140b.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the protrusion 132 of the drive member 130 has one inclined guide surface 144 that constitutes a wedge shape. The guide surface 144 of the protrusion 132 enters the gap 146 between the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116 located on the lower surface 108a of the vehicle hood 102 and the pin 114, and is in contact with the pin 114. The protrusion 132 is formed with a recess 148 for holding the pin 114. Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the protruding portion 132 of the drive member 130 includes a contact portion 150 and a wall portion 152 other than the contact portion 150.

The contact portion 150 has a shape corresponding to the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116, and as shown in FIG. 4A, the width L1 in the vehicle width direction is smaller than the width L2 of the connecting portion 142 of the arm 112. It is larger than the width L3 of the wall portion 152. Further, the wall portion 152 is sufficiently smaller than the width L2 of the connecting portion 142 of the arm 112.

Here, the operation of the vehicle safety device 100 will be described. First, when the impact when a pedestrian collides with the vehicle is detected by a sensor (not shown) or the like, the actuator 118 ignites the explosive by the squib 128 due to this. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the drive member 130 is driven toward the front side of the vehicle toward the outside of the housing 126 by the gas pressure or the like accompanying the ignition of the explosive.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the protrusion 132 of the drive member 130 further enters the gap 146 between the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116 and the pin 114, and widens this gap 146 to bounce the vehicle hood 102. increase. When the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up, the pin 114 is guided to the slots 138 of the side surfaces 136a and 136b of the guide member 116 as shown in FIG. 3A by widening the gap 146. As a result, the pin 114 is separated from the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (c).

Specifically, when widening the gap 146, the pin 114 exerts a force on the protrusion 132 of the drive member 130 in contact, whereby the drive member 130 and the guide member 116 of the actuator 118 attached to the vehicle hood 102 Together, they are separated upward from the pin 114. Then, in the vehicle safety device 100, the arm 112 that supports the vehicle hood 102 rotates, and the vehicle hood 102 is separated from the vehicle body 110 and lifted. In this way, the vehicle hood 102 shifts from the normal state shown in FIG. 1 to the lift state. Further, the pin 114 is fitted and held in the recess 148 shown in FIG. 3B so as to maintain the lifted state.

Here, in the vehicle safety device 100, in the intermediate state shown in FIG. 4B, the support portions 140a and 140b of the arm 112 that supports the pin 114 due to the influence of the weight of the vehicle hood 102 and the acceleration due to the flip-up. And the connecting portion 142 is deformed. If the protruding portion 132 of the drive member 130 comes into point contact with the deformed support portions 140a and 140b and the connecting portion 142, the transmission efficiency of the force accompanying the drive of the drive member 130 is impaired, and the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up. May decrease.

In such a case, it is not possible to secure a sufficient space 112 (see FIG. 1 (b)) below the vehicle hood 102 by the time the pedestrian's head collides with the vehicle hood 102, and the impact due to the secondary collision is caused. It becomes difficult to alleviate. In the lifted state, as shown in FIG. 4C, the shapes of the support portions 140a and 140b and the connecting portion 142 are restored to their original shapes.

On the other hand, in the vehicle safety device 100, as shown in FIG. 4A, the width L3 of the wall portion 152 of the drive member 130 is sufficiently smaller than the width L2 of the connecting portion 142, and the drive member 130. A sufficient gap 154a and 154b can be secured between the wall portion 152 and the support portions 140a and 140b. Therefore, in the intermediate state shown in FIG. 4B, the wall portion 152 of the drive member 130 does not make point contact with the support portions 140a and 140b.

Further, the contact portion 150 of the drive member 130 is larger than the width L3 of the wall portion 152 and has a shape corresponding to the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116. Therefore, in the intermediate state shown in FIG. 4 (b), the contact portion 150 has a shape corresponding to the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116. Surface contact with the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116, and no point contact.

That is, the protruding portion 132 of the drive member 130 contacts the pin 114 even if the support portions 140a, 140b and the connecting portion 142 of the arm 112 that supports the pin 114 are deformed in the intermediate state when the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up. However, it does not make point contact with any of the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116 located around the protrusion 132 and the support portions 140a and 140b of the arm 112. Therefore, according to the vehicle safety device 100, the transmission efficiency of the force accompanying the driving of the driving member 130 is not impaired, and the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up can be increased.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the lift amount of the vehicle hood 102 by the vehicle safety device 100 of FIG. In the figure, the horizontal axis is the elapsed time T (s) from the start of operation of the vehicle safety device 100, and the vertical axis is the lift amount F (mm) of the vehicle hood 102. Further, the graph B shown by the solid line in the figure shows the vehicle safety device 100. The graph C shown by the dotted line shows a comparative example having a shape in which the protruding portion 132 of the driving member 130 is in point contact with each of the surrounding members. In the comparative example and the vehicle safety device 100, an actuator 118 having the same output is used.

The lift amount shown in Graph B is larger than the lift amount shown in Graph C in the initial stage of flipping up the vehicle hood 102. Graph B also shows that the maximum lift amount is reached in a shorter time than Graph C. Further, the maximum value of the lift amount shown in Graph B is smaller than the maximum value of the lift amount shown in Graph C.

Therefore, as shown in graphs B and C, according to the vehicle safety device 100, by preventing the above-mentioned point contact, the transmission efficiency of the force accompanying the driving of the driving member 130 is not impaired, and the vehicle hood 102 is bounced. It is clear that the speed of raising is improved. Further, in the vehicle safety device 100, since the flip-up speed of the vehicle hood 102 can be improved by preventing the above-mentioned point contact, for example, a large actuator 118 having a high output is not required, and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. ..

FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a change in position of the vehicle hood 102 due to the lift of the vehicle safety device 100 of FIG. 1. Here, as an example, the dimension La of the vehicle hood 102 shown by the solid line in the vehicle front-rear direction is 1200 mm, and the dimension Lb of the arm 112 shown by the dotted line is 200 mm. In this case, the rotation of the arm 112 causes the vehicle hood 102 to jump up by a dimension of about Lc (for example, 90 mm).

Further, when the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up by the vehicle safety device 100, the vehicle hood 102 moves to the rear side of the vehicle by a dimension Ld (for example, 15 mm) due to, for example, a gap of the hood lock mechanism. This movement can reduce the possibility that the pedestrian's head will collide with the vehicle's front window glass 106 during a secondary collision.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a vehicle safety device 200 of a comparative example. The vehicle safety device 200 is described in that the contact portion 150 is not formed on the protruding portion 232 of the drive member 230, and the width of the upper surface 234 of the guide member 216 and the connecting portion 242 of the arm 212 is reduced. It is different from the vehicle safety device 100.

In the vehicle safety device 200 of the comparative example, the gap between the wall portion 252 of the protrusion 232 and the support portions 240a and 240b of the arm 212 is reduced by reducing the width. In such a configuration, even if the width of the wall portion 252 of the protrusion 232 is smaller than the width of the support portions 240a and 240b, when the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up, the wall portion 252 of the protrusion 232 is the support portions 240a and 240b. It becomes difficult to increase the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up.

That is, in order to improve the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up, a sufficient gap 154a is provided between the wall portion 152 of the protrusion 132 and the support portions 140a and 140b of the arm 112, as in the vehicle safety device 100. It is important to secure 154b.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another vehicle safety device 100A. The cross-sectional shape of the vehicle safety device 100A shown in FIGS. 8 (a), 8 (b) and 8 (c) corresponds to FIGS. 4 (a), 4 (b) and 4 (c). It shows the normal state, the intermediate state, and the lift state, respectively.

The vehicle safety device 100A is different from the vehicle safety device 100 in that the contact portion 150 is not formed on the protruding portion 132 of the drive member 130. Therefore, in the vehicle safety device 100A, when the support portions 140a and 140b of the arm 112 supporting the pin 114 and the connecting portion 142 are deformed in the intermediate state shown in FIG. 4B, the wall portion 152 of the protrusion 132 The upper end portion 156 of the guide member 116 comes into point contact with the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116, and the power transmission efficiency associated with the driving of the driving member 130 is impaired to some extent.

However, in the vehicle safety device 100A, as in the vehicle safety device 100, sufficient gaps 154a and 154b are secured between the wall portion 152 of the protrusion 132 and the support portions 140a and 140b.

Therefore, in the vehicle safety device 100A, unlike the vehicle safety device 200 of the comparative example, the wall portion 152 of the protrusion 132 does not make point contact with the support portions 140a and 140b. Therefore, in the vehicle safety device 100A, the flip-up speed of the vehicle hood 102 can be improved as compared with the vehicle safety device 200 of the comparative example.

Hereinafter, a configuration for further improving the flip-up speed of the vehicle hood 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 15. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the drive member 130 of the vehicle safety device 100 of FIG. 1 and the pin 114 are in contact with each other. FIG. 9 (a) corresponds to FIG. 4 (b) showing an intermediate state. 9 (b) schematically shows a part of FIG. 9 (a).

In the vehicle safety device 100, in the intermediate state shown in FIG. 9A, the pin 114 has a predetermined angle (hereinafter referred to as an inclination angle θ) due to the deformation of the support portions 140a and 140b and the connecting portion 142 of the arm 112 described above. Only tilt. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9B, the guide surface 144 of the protrusion 132 of the drive member 130 comes into point contact with the pin 114 tilted by the tilt angle θ. In the other vehicle safety device 100A shown in FIG. 8, the pin 114 may be tilted in the intermediate state as shown in FIG. 8 (b).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the shape of the drive member 130 of FIG. 10 (a), 10 (b), and 10 (c) are a perspective view showing the protruding portion 132 of the drive member 130 excluding the contact portion 150, a front view seen from the front side of the vehicle, and from the inside of the vehicle. It is a side view as seen.

As shown in FIG. 10 (c), the guide surface 144 is inclined so as to form a wedge shape, but as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), it is inclined with respect to the width direction. Not done. Therefore, the guide surface 144 comes into point contact with the tilted pin 114 in the intermediate state. Due to this point contact, the transmission efficiency of the force accompanying the driving of the driving member 130 is impaired, and the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up is reduced.

Therefore, instead of the guide surface 144, a guide surface having an inclined surface further inclined with respect to the width direction of the drive member 130 is adopted. The inclined surface constituting this guide surface is inclined at an inclination angle θ so as to make surface contact with the inclined pin 114 in the intermediate state. Hereinafter, a specific description will be given.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the shape of the first drive member 130A. 11 (a), 11 (b), and 11 (c) are a perspective view showing a wall portion 152A of the protruding portion 132A of the drive member 130A, a front view seen from the front side of the vehicle, and a side surface seen from the inside of the vehicle. It is a figure. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state in which the drive member 130A of FIG. 11 is in contact with the pin 114.

In the drive member 130A, as shown in FIG. 11B, the guide surface 144A has an inclined surface 158 inclined at an inclination angle θ. The inclined surface 158 constituting the guide surface 144A is defined by the side sides 160a, 160b, 160c, and 160d. As shown in FIG. 12, the guide surface 144A having such an inclined surface 158 is in surface contact with the inclined pin 114 without making point contact at the point D (see FIG. 9B).

Therefore, by using the first drive member 130A, it is possible to prevent point contact with the tilted pin 114, improve the force transmission efficiency associated with the drive of the drive member 130A, and increase the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up. Is possible.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the shape of the second drive member 130B. 13 (a), 13 (b), and 13 (c) are a perspective view showing the wall portion 152B of the protruding portion 132B of the drive member 130B, a front view seen from the front side of the vehicle, and a side surface seen from the inside of the vehicle. It is a figure.

The guide surface 144B of the drive member 130B has two inclined surfaces 164a and 164b in which the guide surface 144B is partitioned by a ridge line 162 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction at the center in the vehicle width direction. As shown in the figure, the two inclined surfaces 164a and 164b are arranged symmetrically with respect to the ridge line 162 and are inclined at an inclination angle θ. The inclined surfaces 164a and 164b are defined by a ridge line 162 and each side side 166a, 166b, 166c, 166d, and 166e.

In the drive member 130B, when the vehicle safety device 100 is arranged on the right side of the vehicle hood 102 in the vehicle width direction, for example, one inclined surface 164a comes into surface contact with the inclined pin 114, and the other inclined surface 164b is a pin. Does not touch 114. Further, when the vehicle safety device 100 is arranged on the left side of the vehicle hood 102 in the vehicle width direction, the other inclined surface 164b comes into surface contact with the inclined pin 114, and one inclined surface 164a does not come into contact with the pin 114. ..

Therefore, by using the second drive member 130B, it is possible to prevent point contact with the tilted pin 114, and it is possible to increase the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up. Further, since the two inclined surfaces 164a and 164b constituting the guide surface 144B are arranged symmetrically with respect to the ridge line 162, the second drive member 130B uses the vehicle safety device 100 in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle hood 102. It becomes a part that can be used in common when it is placed on both sides, and the number of parts can be reduced.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the shape of the third drive member 130C. 14 (a), 14 (b), and 14 (c) are a perspective view showing the wall portion 152C of the protruding portion 132C of the drive member 130C, a front view seen from the front side of the vehicle, and a side surface seen from the inside of the vehicle. It is a figure.

The guide surface 144C of the drive member 130C has two inclined surfaces 172a and 172b in which the guide surface 144 is partitioned by a ridge line 170 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction at the center in the vehicle width direction, except for the front end portion 168 of the guide surface 144C. is doing. As shown in FIG. 14B, the two inclined surfaces 172a and 172b are arranged symmetrically with respect to the ridge line 170, and are inclined at an inclination angle θ, respectively. The inclined surfaces 172a and 172b are defined by the ridge line 170 and each side side 174a, 174b, 174c, 174d, 174e.

Here, in the state where the front end portion 168 of the guide surface 144C is in contact with the pin 114, that is, in the initial stage of flipping up the vehicle hood 102, the support portions 140a, 140b and the connecting portion 142 of the arm 112 that supports the pin 114 are deformed. do not have. Therefore, it is highly possible that the pin 114 is not tilted in the initial stage. Therefore, even when the inclined surfaces 172a and 172b are not formed on the front end portion 168 of the guide surface 144C, the guide surface 144C does not make point contact with the pin 114, and the power transmission efficiency associated with the driving of the driving member 130C is improved. Not spoiled.

Therefore, by using the third drive member 130C, it is possible to prevent the guide surface 144C from making point contact with the pin 114 and increase the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up. Further, since the third drive member 130C is a component that can be commonly used in the same manner as the second drive member 130B, the number of components can be reduced.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the shape of the fourth drive member 130D. 15 (a), 15 (b), and 15 (c) are a perspective view showing the wall portion 152D of the protruding portion 132D of the drive member 130D, a front view seen from the front side of the vehicle, and a side view seen from the inside of the vehicle. It is a figure. Further, FIG. 15 (d) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 15 (c).

The guide surface 144D of the drive member 130D has inclined surfaces 182a and 182b formed on the intermediate portion 180 excluding the front end portion 176 and the rear end portion 178 of the guide surface 144D. The inclination angles of these inclined surfaces 182a and 182b are the largest in the vicinity of the center of the intermediate portion 180, form the inclination angle θ shown in FIG. 15 (d), and are the smallest in the vicinity of the front end portion 176 and the rear end portion 178.

Further, the inclined surfaces 182a and 182b are partitioned by a ridge line 184 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction at the center of the vehicle width direction, except for the front end portion 176 and the rear end portion 178 of the guide surface 144D. These inclined surfaces 182a and 182b are arranged symmetrically with respect to the ridge line 184, and are defined by the ridge line 184 and each side side 186a and 186b.

Here, in the state where the front end portion 178 and the rear end portion 178 of the guide surface 144D are in contact with the pin 114, that is, in the initial stage and the final stage (lift state) in which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up, the support of the arm 112 that supports the pin 114 is supported. The portions 140a and 140b and the connecting portion 142 are not deformed. Therefore, in the initial stage and the final stage, the pin 114 is likely not tilted, and the guide surface 144D does not make point contact with the pin 114.

Further, there is a high possibility that the pin 114 will be tilted in a state where the intermediate portion 180 of the guide surface 144D is in contact with the pin 114 (intermediate state). The inclination angle of the pin 114 is largest when the pin 114 comes into contact with the center of the intermediate portion 180 of the guide surface 144D, and becomes small when the pin 114 comes into contact with the pin 114 other than near the center.

In the drive member 130D, the inclination angles of the inclined surfaces 182a and 182b of the guide surface 144D are changed following the inclination of the pin 114. Therefore, by using the fourth drive member 130D, it is possible to prevent the guide surface 144D from making point contact with the pin 114 and increase the speed at which the vehicle hood 102 is flipped up. Further, since the fourth drive member 130D is a component that can be commonly used in the same manner as the second and third drive members 130B and 130C, the number of components can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116 is flat, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a curved shape having an appropriate curved surface may be used. In such a case, for example, the contact portion 150 of the drive member 130 may be shaped to match the curved shape of the upper surface 134 of the guide member 116, and may be brought into surface contact with the upper surface 134.

Further, the inclined surfaces 158, 164a, 164b, 172a, 172b, 182a, and 182b constituting the guide surfaces 144 and 144A to 144D of the drive members 130 and 130A to 130D have a planar shape, but are in surface contact with the inclined pin 114. If the shape is possible, the shape may be curved according to the deformation of the pin 114.

Further, the vehicle safety device 100 is a pair of devices installed on the right side and the left side of the rear end portion 108 of the vehicle hood 102, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle hood 102 can be quickly flipped up. If the pedestrian protection performance can be ensured, it may be installed only on the right side or the left side.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modifications or modifications within the scope of the claims, which naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a vehicle safety device installed in a vehicle and mainly for the purpose of protecting pedestrians in an emergency.

100, 100A ... Vehicle safety device, 102 ... Vehicle hood, 110 ... Vehicle body, 112 ... Arm, 114 ... Pin, 116 ... Guide member, 118 ... Actuator, 128 ... Squib, 130, 130A-130D ... Drive member, 132 , 132A-132D ... projecting portion, 134 ... top surface, 136a, 136b ... side surface, 138 ... slot, 140a, 140b ... support portion, 142 ... connecting portion, 144, 144A-144D ... guide surface, 146 ... gap, 150 ... contact Part, 152, 152A to 152D ... Wall part, 156 ... Upper end part, 158, 164a, 164b, 172a, 172b, 182a, 182b ... Inclined surface

Claims (2)

In vehicle safety devices
An arm that supports the vehicle hood and is rotatably attached to the vehicle hood and the vehicle body, respectively.
A pin protruding from the arm and
An actuator attached to the vehicle hood, including a wedge-shaped drive member that drives along the lower surface of the vehicle hood, the drive member entering the gap between the lower surface of the vehicle hood and the pin to enter the gap. An actuator that lifts the vehicle hood by unfolding
A guide member attached to the vehicle hood, which has an upper surface located above the pin and two side surfaces through which the pin penetrates, and long slots are formed in the vertical direction on the two side surfaces. The guide member, in which the slot guides the pin away from the lower surface of the vehicle hood due to the widening of the gap,
A support portion attached to the arm, located inside the side surface of the guide member, and supporting both ends of the pin,
It is provided with a connecting portion located below the pin and connecting the supporting portions by bridging each other.
The width of the drive member is smaller than the width of the connecting portion, and the drive member has a wall portion with a gap between the drive member and the support portion, thereby forming a wedge shape of the drive member. A vehicle safety device, characterized in that the driving member does not make point contact with the support portion when one inclined guide surface is in contact with the pin. The drive member has a contact portion that comes into surface contact with the upper surface of the guide member.
The wall portion is a portion of the driving member other than the contact portion.
The vehicle safety device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the contact portion is larger than the width of the wall portion .

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