JP7611796B2 - Reinforcement member for vehicle exterior parts and reinforcement structure for vehicle exterior parts - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a reinforcing member and a reinforcing structure for reinforcing the mechanical strength of vehicle exterior parts.

Vehicle exterior parts that are attached to vehicles may have slits (notches) for various reasons. For example, in the case of a plastic vehicle bumper, the bumper may be deformed when it is pulled out of the resin molding die, so slits are formed in predetermined positions to facilitate this deformation.

In addition, in the case of vehicle exterior parts that are composed of multiple components, slits may be necessary to connect the components. For example, when using a connecting member to connect multiple components to each other, slits may be formed in each component to attach the connecting member. In addition, in Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication 2003-312298), a slit-shaped cutout groove is formed in the front bumper to connect the front bumper and front fender.

JP 2003-312298 A

As such, slits are formed in vehicle exterior parts for various reasons, but the presence of these slits can weaken the mechanical strength of the vehicle exterior part. In other words, the vehicle exterior part is prone to deformation in the area where the slits are provided, causing the slits to spread outward, which weakens the mechanical strength of the vehicle exterior part.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a reinforcing member and reinforcing structure that can effectively increase the mechanical strength of a vehicle exterior part having slits formed therein with a simple configuration.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following solution. That is, as described in claim 1, a reinforcing member is attached to a vehicle exterior part having a slit to reinforce the vicinity of the slit of the vehicle exterior part, and includes a support part disposed within the slit and a holding part provided at a predetermined distance from both sides of the support part in the width direction, and the held parts provided on both sides of the slit in the width direction are held by the holding part.

According to the above solution, the retaining portion (e.g., first retaining wall portion 37, second retaining wall portion 38, fitting hole 53) of the reinforcing member (e.g., reinforcing member 30, 50) retains the retained portion (e.g., first protrusion 23A, 23B, second protrusion 24A, 24B, protrusion 56) provided on both sides of the slit (e.g., slit 21A, 21B, 55) of the vehicle exterior part (e.g., bumper 10, 54), so that deformation of the slit of the vehicle exterior part that would be pushed open is appropriately restricted, and the mechanical strength of the vehicle exterior part is increased.

A preferred embodiment based on the above-mentioned solution is as described in claim 2 and subsequent claims. That is, the retained portion may be a protrusion provided on the vehicle exterior part and extending in the longitudinal direction from both sides of the width direction of the slit, and the retaining portion may be a fitting recess provided on the reinforcing member into which the protrusion fits (corresponding to claim 2). In this case, the protrusions (e.g., first protrusions 23A, 23B, second protrusions 24A, 24B) that are the retained parts of the vehicle exterior part are fitted into the fitting recesses (e.g., first fitting recesses 39, second fitting recesses 40) formed by the retaining parts (e.g., first retaining wall parts 37, second retaining wall parts 38) of the reinforcing member (e.g., reinforcing member 30) and are held by the retaining parts from the opposite side of the support part (e.g., support part 35) (i.e., the opposite side of the slit). Therefore, the retention by the retaining parts is firm, and deformation that would cause the slits (e.g., slits 21A, 21B) to spread outward is effectively restricted, significantly increasing the mechanical strength of the vehicle exterior part. In addition, the protrusions can be formed by extending both sides of the opening ends of the slits (e.g., opening ends 22A, 22B), so there is no need to add a new configuration, and the reinforcing structure can be simplified.

The vehicle exterior part is configured by connecting a plurality of exterior members at connecting parts provided on each of the exterior members, the connecting parts of the plurality of exterior members have the slits and the held parts at positions aligned with each other, the support parts of the reinforcing member are arranged in the slits of the plurality of exterior members, the holding parts of the reinforcing member hold the held parts of the plurality of exterior members from the opposite side to the slits, and the reinforcing member may have a clamping part that clamps the connecting parts of the plurality of exterior members together to connect the plurality of exterior members (corresponding to claim 3). In this case, the reinforcing member functions as a reinforcing member that prevents deformation that widens the slits for all of the plurality of exterior members (e.g., upper bumper member 10A, lower bumper member 10B) that constitute the vehicle exterior part, and also functions as a connecting member that clamps and connects the connecting parts (e.g., connecting parts 20A, 20B) of the plurality of exterior members with clamping parts (e.g., first clamping wall part 32, second clamping wall part 33). Therefore, one reinforcing member can serve two functions, simplifying the configuration and reducing costs by reducing the number of parts.

As described in claim 4, in a reinforcing structure in which a vehicle exterior part having a slit is reinforced with a reinforcing member, the vehicle exterior part has a retained part provided on both sides of the width direction of the slit, and the reinforcing member has a support part disposed within the slit and a retaining part provided at a predetermined distance from both sides of the support part in the width direction, and the retained part is retained by the retaining part.

According to the above solution, the retaining portion (e.g., first retaining wall portion 37, second retaining wall portion 38, fitting hole 53) of the reinforcing member (e.g., reinforcing member 30, 50) retains the retained portion (e.g., first protrusion 23A, 23B, second protrusion 24A, 24B, protrusion 56) provided on both sides of the slit (e.g., slit 21A, 21B, 55) of the vehicle exterior part (e.g., bumper 10, 54), so that deformation of the slit of the vehicle exterior part that would be pushed open is appropriately restricted, and the mechanical strength of the vehicle exterior part is increased.

Preferred embodiments based on the above-mentioned solution are as described in claims 5 and onward in the claims. That is, the vehicle exterior part may have a bent portion disposed at a corner of the vehicle, and the slit may be formed in the bent portion (corresponding to claim 5). In this case, since the slit is formed in the bent portion of the vehicle exterior part, when the vehicle exterior part is manufactured, the vehicle exterior part can be easily deformed and easily pulled out from the molding die, while when the vehicle exterior part is used, deformation in the slit portion is appropriately prevented by the reinforcing member.

According to the present invention, the retaining portion of the reinforcing member retains the retained portions on both sides of the slit in the vehicle exterior part, so that deformation that would cause the slit to widen outward is appropriately restricted, and the mechanical strength of the vehicle exterior part is effectively increased.

1 is a diagram showing a vehicle equipped with a vehicle bumper to which the present invention is applied; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the reason why slits are provided in a vehicle bumper. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of a reinforcement structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating a state before a reinforcement member is attached to a slit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a reinforcing member according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from a first retaining wall portion side. 13 is a perspective view of the reinforcing member as viewed from the second retaining wall portion side. FIG. 13 is a side view of the reinforcing member as viewed from the first retaining wall portion side. FIG. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 7. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the reinforcing member is attached to the bumper. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the reinforcing member is attached to the bumper. FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. FIG. 1 shows a vehicle 1 equipped with a vehicle bumper 10 to which the present invention is applied. The bumper 10 is an exterior vehicle part formed, for example, by resin molding, and as shown in the figure, is attached to the front of the vehicle 1 and is positioned below the front grille 2.

The bumper 10 has a front portion 11 that is disposed along the front surface 3 of the vehicle 1, and side portions 12 on both sides that are disposed along the front end portions of both side surfaces 4 of the vehicle 1 (only the left side portion 12 of the vehicle 1 is shown in FIG. 1). A bent portion 13 that is curved at approximately 90 degrees is formed between the front portion 11 and both side portions 12, and is arranged to be disposed at the corners 5 on both ends in the width direction of the front surface 3 of the vehicle 1. The reinforcing structure of the present invention is applied to this bent portion 13.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining why slits are provided in the bumper 10. The bumper 10 of this embodiment is formed by resin molding, so it needs to be pulled out of the mold after molding. The figure shows a case where a mold 5 is placed inside the bumper 10 and the bumper 10 is pulled out from this mold 5.

In this case, the bumper 10 is pulled out from the mold 5 by moving it towards the front portion 11 (left side of the figure), but because the end of the side portion 12 opposite the front portion 11 has a hook portion 14 that is bent inward, this hook portion 14 gets caught on the mold 5. For this reason, when the bumper 10 is pulled out from the mold 5, the side portion 12 is bent outward as shown by the dashed line in the figure, deforming the bumper 10 and avoiding interference between the hook portion 14 and the mold 5. To facilitate this deformation of the bumper 10, a slit 21 is provided on the inside of the bent portion 13.

Figure 3 shows an outline of the reinforcing structure in an embodiment of the present invention. Note that this figure shows the state before the reinforcing member 30 is attached to the bumper 10, and only a portion of the bumper 10 is shown cut away.

As shown in the figure, the bumper 10 is composed of an upper bumper member 10A and a lower bumper member 10B assembled one above the other. In the following description, the reference numbers for the corresponding components of the upper bumper member 10A and the lower bumper member 10B are the same, with A added to the components of the upper bumper member 10A and B added to the components of the lower bumper member 10B.

The bent portion 13A of the upper bumper member 10A and the bent portion 13B (not shown) of the lower bumper member 10B are provided with connecting portions 20A and 20B, respectively, which are shaped like eaves and extend horizontally on the inside of the curve. The connecting portions 20A and 20B are plate-like portions of the same shape, and are stacked one on top of the other. As will be described in more detail later, the upper bumper member 10A and the lower bumper member 10B are connected to each other at the connecting portions 20A and 20B.

Slits 21A and 21B are formed in the connecting portions 20A and 20B, respectively. The slits 21A and 21B have the same shape and are formed in positions that align with each other, and overlap one another to form a single slit. As will be described in detail later, a reinforcing member 30 is attached to these slits 21A and 21B.

The slits 21A and 21B have opening ends 22A and 22B that open toward the inside of the bumper 10 (the inside of the vehicle 1). First protrusions 23A and 23B and second protrusions 24A and 24B are provided on the left and right sides of the opening ends 22A and 22B, respectively.

The first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B are plate-like portions extending from both sides of the opening ends 22A, 22B, and extend horizontally toward the inside of the bumper 10 (i.e., toward the inside of the vehicle 1). In this embodiment, the protrusions 24A, 24B extend farther from the opening ends 22A, 22B than the protrusions 23A, 23B, and are also larger in size.

Engagement holes 25A and 25B are formed in the connecting parts 20A and 20B so as to be located rearward of the protruding parts 24A and 24B (engagement hole 25B is not shown). The engagement hole 25A is formed in the upper surface of the connecting part 20A and opens upward. On the other hand, the engagement hole 25B is formed in the lower surface of the connecting part 20B and opens downward.

Figures 4 to 7 show the reinforcing member 30 in detail. In the following explanation, each component of the reinforcing member 30 is explained using expressions that indicate directions such as front-back, up-down, left-right, etc., but this is for convenience of explanation and does not limit the content of the present invention.

The reinforcing member 30 is a clip member formed, for example, from resin. As shown in the figure, a first clamping wall portion 32 and a second clamping wall portion 33 are provided on both the upper and lower sides of the front end 31 side of the reinforcing member 30. The first clamping wall portion 32 and the second clamping wall portion 33 extend to near the center of the longitudinal direction (front-to-back direction) of the reinforcing member 30 and are arranged parallel to each other with a predetermined distance between them.

A number of ridges 34 extending in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing member 30 are formed on the inward facing surfaces (opposing surfaces) of the first and second clamping walls 32, 33. As a result, when the reinforcing member 30 is attached to the bumper 10, the connecting portions 20A, 20B of the bumper 10 are clamped from above and below between the first clamping wall 32 and the second clamping wall 33, and are held in contact with the ridges 34.

A support 35 is provided between the first clamping wall 32 and the second clamping wall 33. The support 35 is a plate-shaped portion that extends from the inward surface of the first clamping wall 32 to the inward surface of the second clamping wall 33, and extends from near the front end 31 of the reinforcing member 30 in the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing member 30. The support 35 is a portion that is placed in the slits 21A and 21B when the reinforcing member 30 is attached to the bumper 10, and its left-right width is set to be slightly smaller than the width of the slits 21A and 21B of the bumper 10.

A first retaining wall portion 37 and a second retaining wall portion 38 are provided on the rear end 36 side of the reinforcing member 30. The first and second retaining wall portions 37, 38 form part of the outer wall extending from the left and right sides of the reinforcing member 30 to the rear end 36. The first retaining wall portion 37 is connected to the rear ends of the side surfaces of the first and second clamping walls 32, 33.

The first and second retaining walls 37, 38 are disposed on both the left and right sides of the support 35. As a result, a first fitting recess 39 is formed on the inside (support 35 side) of the first retaining wall 37, into which the first protrusions 23A, 23B of the bumper 10 fit, and a second fitting recess 40 is formed on the inside (support 35 side) of the second retaining wall 38, into which the second protrusions 24A, 24B of the bumper 10 fit.

The first retaining wall 37 and the second retaining wall 38 have retaining projections 41 and 42 formed on their inward surfaces, respectively, which protrude toward the support 35. When the first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B of the bumper 10 are fitted into the first fitting recess 39 and the second fitting recess 40, these retaining projections 41 and 42 come into contact with the first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B, respectively, from the side opposite the support 35. As a result, the first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B are retained by the first retaining wall 37 and the second retaining wall 38 from the side opposite the support 35 (i.e., the slits 21A, 21B).

The first and second fitting recesses 39, 40 have positions and shapes corresponding to the positions and shapes (dimensions) of the first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B, respectively. To explain in more detail, the first retaining wall portion 37 is disposed near the center of the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing member 30, whereas the second retaining wall portion 38 is disposed on the rear end 36 side of the reinforcing member 30. In addition, the support portion 35 is disposed at a position where the distance between the first retaining wall portion 37 and the second retaining wall portion 38 is narrower than that between the support portion 35 and the second retaining wall portion 38.

As a result, the first fitting recess 39 is formed between the support 35 and the first retaining wall 37 near the longitudinal center of the reinforcing member 30 in correspondence with the positions of the first protrusions 23A and 23B, and has a small dimension corresponding to the size of the first protrusions 23A and 23B. On the other hand, the second fitting recess 40 is formed between the rear inner wall surface 43 of the support 35 and the second retaining wall 38 near the rear end 31 of the reinforcing member 30 in correspondence with the positions of the second protrusions 24A and 24B, and has a large dimension corresponding to the dimensions of the second protrusions 24A and 24B.

The first and second clamping walls 32, 33 are provided at their rear ends with upper and lower locking arms 44, respectively. The locking arms 44 are provided on the second holding wall 38 side (in front of the mating recess 40) relative to the support 35, and include an engagement claw 45 on the tip side, an operating portion 46 on the base end side, and a connection portion 47 provided between the engagement claw 45 and the operating portion 46. The locking arms 44 are integrally formed with the first and second clamping walls 32, 33 via the connection portion 47.

When the reinforcing member 30 is attached to the bumper 10, the engaging claws 45 of the locking arms 44 engage with the locking holes 25A, 25B of the bumper 10. This locks the reinforcing member 30 to the bumper 10 (connecting portions 20A, 20B) and prevents it from falling off the bumper 10.

The locking arm 44 can be rotated in a direction in which the locking claw 45 disengages from the locking holes 25A and 25B by operating the operating portion 46 that protrudes outward from the reinforcing member 30 so as to push it inward, and this operation allows the engagement claw 45 to engage and disengage with the locking holes 25A and 25B.

8 and 9 show the reinforcing member 30 attached to the bumper 10. When attaching the reinforcing member 30 to the bumper 10, the front end 31 of the reinforcing member 30 is directed toward the bumper 10 (as shown in FIG. 3), and the support portion 35 of the reinforcing member 30 is inserted into the slits 21A and 21B from the opening ends 22A and 22B of the slits 21A and 21B.

When the reinforcing member 30 is attached to the bumper 10, as shown in FIG. 8, the support 35 of the reinforcing member 30 is disposed in the slits 21A and 21B, and the first and second clamping walls 32 and 33 of the reinforcing member 30 are disposed above and below the connecting parts 20A and 20B of the bumper 10. As a result, the protrusions 34 of the reinforcing member 30 abut against the connecting parts 20A and 20B, and the connecting parts 20A and 20B are clamped from above and below by the first and second clamping walls 32 and 33. Therefore, the upper bumper member 10A and the lower bumper member 10B are connected by the reinforcing member 30 at the connecting parts 20A and 20B. That is, the reinforcing member 30 of this embodiment also functions as a connecting member that connects the upper bumper member 10A and the lower bumper member 10B.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, the first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B of the bumper 10 are fitted into the first fitting recess 39 and the second fitting recess 40, respectively. As a result, the first protrusions 23A, 23B and the second protrusions 24A, 24B come into contact with the retaining protrusions 41, 42 of the first and second retaining walls 37, 38 and are held from the side opposite the slits 21A, 21B. This appropriately restricts the deformation of the slits 21A, 21B of the bumper 10 from expanding outward, and increases the mechanical strength of the bumper 10.

As described above, according to the reinforcing member 30 and reinforcing structure of this embodiment, the first and second retaining walls 37, 38 on both sides retain the first and second protrusions 23A and 23B, 24A and 24B provided on both sides of the slits 21A and 21B from the side opposite the slits 21A and 21B, so that the deformation of the slits 21A and 21B expanding outward is appropriately restricted. Therefore, the mechanical strength of the bumper 10 is improved simply by attaching the reinforcing member 30 to the slits 21A and 21B. In addition, the reinforcing member 30 can be easily attached by simply inserting the support 35 into the slits 21A and 21B. In addition, since the first and second protrusions 23A and 23B, 24A and 24B are formed by extending both side portions of the opening ends 22A and 22B of the slits 21A and 21B, there is no need to add a new configuration as a retained portion retained by the first and second retaining walls 37, 38.

In addition, because the support pillars 35 are disposed within the slits 21A and 21B, the reinforcing member 30 can be appropriately positioned relative to the bumper 10. In addition, because the support pillars 35 restrict the inward deformation of the slits 21A and 21B, deformation of the slits 21A and 21B is appropriately prevented.

In addition, the connecting portion 20A of the upper bumper member 10A and the connecting portion 20B of the lower bumper member 10B are sandwiched between the first and second clamping walls 32, 33 of the reinforcing member 30 while overlapping each other, so that the upper bumper member 10A and the lower bumper member 10B are connected by the reinforcing member 30 at the connecting portions 20A, 20B. Therefore, the reinforcing member 30 also functions as a connecting member, and there is no need to prepare a connecting member other than the reinforcing member 30, so the configuration of the vehicle exterior part can be simplified and costs can be reduced by reducing the number of parts.

In addition, the locking claws 45 of the locking arms 44 of the reinforcing member 30 engage with the locking holes 25A and 25B of the bumper 10, and the reinforcing member 30 is locked to the bumper 10, so that the reinforcing member 30 is appropriately prevented from falling off. In addition, the locking arms 44 can be easily engaged with and disengaged from the locking holes 25A and 25B by simply pressing the operating portion 46.

Figure 10 shows an outline of another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the reinforcing member 50 of this embodiment comprises a plate-shaped main body 51, a support section 52 provided on the underside of the main body 51, and fitting holes 53 formed at predetermined positions on both sides of the support section 52. Meanwhile, the bumper 54 comprises a slit 55 and protrusions 56 provided at predetermined positions on both sides of the slit 55.

When the reinforcing member 50 is attached to the bumper 54, the support 52 is placed in the slit 55, and the projections 56 on both sides are fitted into the corresponding fitting holes 53. This allows both sides of the slit 55 to be held by the reinforcing member 50, restricting deformation of the slit 55 by pushing it outward, thereby increasing the mechanical strength of the bumper 54.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and appropriate modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the holding portion of the reinforcing member 30 is the first and second holding wall portions 37, 38 that form part of the outer wall of the reinforcing member 30, but the form of the holding portion in the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and can take any form as long as it holds the held portions on both sides of the slit from the side opposite the slit.

In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, a protrusion can be provided on the reinforcing member 50, and a fitting hole into which the protrusion fits can be provided on the bumper 54.

The present invention can be used to increase the mechanical strength of vehicle bumpers.

1 Vehicle 10 Vehicle bumper 10A Upper bumper member 10B Lower bumper member 11 Front portion of bumper 12 Side portion of bumper 13 Bumper bend portion 14 Bumper bend portion 20A, 20B Connecting portion 21, 21A, 21B Slit 22A, 22B Slit opening end 23A, 23B First protrusion 24A, 24B Second protrusion 25A, 25B Locking hole 30 Reinforcing member 31 Front end 32 of reinforcing member First clamping wall portion 33 Second clamping wall portion 34 Protrusion 35 Support portion 36 Rear end 37 of reinforcing member First retaining wall portion 38 Second retaining wall portion 39 First fitting recess 40 Second fitting recess 41 Retaining protrusion 42 of first retaining wall portion Retaining protrusion 43 of second retaining wall portion Inner wall surface 44 Locking arm 45 Locking claw 46 Operation portion 47 Connection portion 50 Reinforcing member 51 Reinforcing member main body 52 Support portion 53 Fitting hole 54 Bumper 55 Slit 56 Protrusion portion

Claims (5)

A reinforcing member that is attached to a vehicle exterior part having a slit and reinforces the vicinity of the slit of the vehicle exterior part,
A support portion is disposed within the slit, and a holding portion is provided at a predetermined interval from both sides of the support portion in the width direction,
A reinforcing member, characterized in that held portions provided on both sides of the slit in the width direction are held by the holding portions. The reinforcing member for a vehicle exterior part according to claim 1,
The held portion is a protrusion provided on the vehicle exterior part and extending in a longitudinal direction from both widthwise sides of the slit,
The retaining portion is a fitting recess provided in the reinforcing member into which the protrusion fits. The reinforcing member according to claim 1 or 2,
The vehicle exterior part is configured by connecting a plurality of exterior members at connecting portions provided on each of the exterior members,
The connecting portions of the plurality of exterior members include the slits and the held portions at positions that are aligned with each other,
the support pillars of the reinforcing member are disposed within the slits of the plurality of exterior members,
the holding portion of the reinforcing member holds the held portions of the plurality of exterior members from an opposite side to the slits,
The reinforcing member includes a clamping portion that clamps the connecting portions of the multiple exterior members together to connect the multiple exterior members. In a reinforcing structure for reinforcing a vehicle exterior part having a slit formed therein with a reinforcing member,
The vehicle exterior part includes a held portion provided on both sides of the slit in a width direction,
The reinforcing member includes a support portion disposed within the slit and a retaining portion provided at a predetermined interval from both sides of the support portion in a width direction,
A reinforcing structure characterized in that the held portion is held by the holding portion. The reinforcing structure according to claim 4,
The vehicle exterior part has a bent portion that is disposed at a corner of a vehicle,
The slit is a reinforcing structure formed in the bent portion.

Images