Active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-replacement energy absorption plate

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of automobile safety devices, in particular to an active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a rapidly-replaceable energy absorption plate, which comprises a rotating hinge, the energy absorption plate, a sliding shaft, a first hinge arm and two second hinge arms, the energy absorption plate and the rotating hinge are detachably connected, and when the energy absorption plate is damaged due to pedestrian protection triggering, the sliding shaft is connected with the rotating hinge through the sliding shaft. Only the plate needs to be replaced without integrally replacing the hinge assembly, so that the maintenance cost is greatly reduced and the maintenance period is greatly shortened; the sliding shaft is of a double-step structure, the first step is in sliding fit with the side wall of the sliding groove to achieve the guiding function, the second step is in interference fit with the multiple protruding characteristics of the inner wall of the guiding groove, the three functions of normal opening buffering, closing locking and collision energy absorption of the hood are achieved at the same time through the single matching relation, the hinge structure is simplified, and the cost is reduced. Therefore, the rear space of the hood is effectively saved, and the problems of complex structure and large occupied space caused by dispersed functional modules are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automotive safety device technology, and in particular to an active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-change energy-absorbing plate. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of automotive safety technology, pedestrian protection has become a crucial consideration in vehicle design. Active pedestrian protection systems effectively reduce injury by proactively raising the rear of the hood before a collision, providing greater headroom for pedestrians. As a key component of this system, the performance of the active hood hinge is paramount.

[0003] However, when existing hinges are triggered by pedestrian protection devices, their energy-absorbing structures (such as crushable supports and broken bolts) often suffer permanent deformation or damage. This necessitates replacing the entire hinge assembly during repairs, resulting in high maintenance costs and long repair cycles. To achieve multiple functions such as normal opening buffering, collision energy absorption, and reset locking, existing technologies often require multiple independent functional components. This dispersed structure not only increases the complexity of the hinge assembly but also occupies space at the rear of the hood, which is detrimental to the overall vehicle layout.

[0004] In summary, existing active hood hinges suffer from problems such as high maintenance costs due to the non-replaceable energy-absorbing structure and complex structure and large space occupation due to the dispersed functional modules. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-replacement energy-absorbing plate, which solves the problems of existing active hood hinges having high maintenance costs due to the non-replaceable energy-absorbing structure and complex structure with large space occupation due to the dispersed functional modules.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides an active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-change energy-absorbing plate. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-change energy-absorbing plate includes a rotating leaf, an energy-absorbing plate, a sliding shaft, a first hinge arm, and two second hinge arms. The rotating leaf is rotatably mounted at one end of the first hinge arm, and the two second hinge arms are rotatably mounted at the other end of the first hinge arm. The ends of the two second hinge arms away from the first hinge arm are both connected to the vehicle body sheet metal. The energy-absorbing plate is detachably connected to the rotating page and is located on the side of the rotating page away from the first hinge arm. The rotating page is also provided with a sliding groove, and the energy-absorbing plate is provided with a guide groove. The guide groove coincides with the sliding groove. The sliding shaft is installed at the first hinge arm and passes through the sliding groove and the guide groove. The inner wall of the guide groove is provided with a plurality of protrusions along the sliding direction. The sliding shaft is a double-step structure, which includes a first step and a second step arranged coaxially. The first step slides with the side wall of the slide groove, and the second step forms an interference fit with the protrusions in the guide groove.

[0007] The rotating page has a positioning protrusion on the side away from the first hinge arm, and the energy-absorbing plate has a positioning hole, with the positioning protrusion matching the positioning hole.

[0008] The energy-absorbing plate is detachably fixed to the rotating blade by locking bolts, and the locking bolts, positioning protrusions and positioning holes are spatially distributed.

[0009] The protrusion feature is either a semi-circular protrusion or a rib extending longitudinally along the guide groove.

[0010] When the protruding feature is a rib, the cross-sectional shape of the rib is semi-circular, triangular, or trapezoidal.

[0011] The multiple protruding features are evenly spaced along the sliding direction of the guide groove.

[0012] The energy-absorbing plate is made of plastic, nylon composite material or aluminum alloy.

[0013] The diameter of the first step is smaller than the diameter of the second step.

[0014] This invention discloses an active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quickly replaceable energy-absorbing plate, comprising a rotating flap, an energy-absorbing plate, a sliding shaft, a first hinge arm, and two second hinge arms. The energy-absorbing plate and the rotating flap are detachably connected, making the irreversible energy-absorbing structure in traditional hinges an independent modular component. When the pedestrian protection triggers and damages the energy-absorbing plate, only the plate needs to be replaced, without replacing the entire hinge assembly, thus significantly reducing maintenance costs and time. Furthermore, because the sliding shaft adopts a double-step structure, the first step slides against the side wall of the guide groove to achieve a guiding function, and the second step forms an interference fit with multiple protrusions on the inner wall of the guide groove. Through a single fit, the hood simultaneously achieves three functions: normal opening and buffering, closing and locking, and collision energy absorption. This integrates functions that originally required multiple independent components into one, simplifying the hinge structure, reducing the number of parts, and effectively saving space at the rear of the hood, thus solving the problem of complex structure and large space occupation caused by dispersed functional modules. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the active pedestrian protection cover hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate provided by the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the disassembled structure of the energy-absorbing plate and the rotating page provided by the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the sliding shaft provided by the present invention.

[0019] 101-Rotating page, 102-Energy-absorbing plate, 103-Sliding shaft, 104-First hinge arm, 105-Second hinge arm, 106-Body sheet metal, 107-Slide groove, 108-Guide groove, 109-Protruding feature, 110-First step, 111-Second step, 112-Positioning protrusion, 113-Positioning hole, 114-Locking bolt, 115-Shearing pin. Detailed Implementation

[0020] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0021] Please see Figures 1 to 3 The present invention provides an active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-change energy-absorbing plate. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-change energy-absorbing plate includes a rotating leaf 101, an energy-absorbing plate 102, a sliding shaft 103, a first hinge arm 104 and two second hinge arms 105. The rotating leaf 101 is rotatably mounted on one end of the first hinge arm 104, and the two second hinge arms 105 are rotatably mounted on the other end of the first hinge arm 104. The ends of the two second hinge arms 105 away from the first hinge arm 104 are connected to the vehicle body sheet metal 106. The energy-absorbing plate 102 is detachably connected to the rotating page 101 and is located on the side of the rotating page 101 away from the first hinge arm 104. The rotating page 101 is also provided with a sliding groove 107. The energy-absorbing plate 102 is provided with a guide groove 108. The guide groove 108 coincides with the sliding groove 107. The sliding shaft 103 is installed at the first hinge arm 104 and passes through the sliding groove 107 and the guide groove 108. The inner wall of the guide groove 108 is provided with a plurality of protrusions 109 along the sliding direction. The sliding shaft 103 is a double-step structure, which includes a first step 110 and a second step 111 arranged coaxially. The first step 110 slides with the side wall of the slide groove 107, and the second step 111 forms an interference fit with the protrusions 109 in the guide groove 108.

[0022] In this embodiment, the energy-absorbing plate 102 and the rotating leaf 101 are detachably connected, making the irreversible energy-absorbing structure in a traditional hinge an independent modular component. When the pedestrian protection triggers and damages the energy-absorbing plate 102, only the plate needs to be replaced, without replacing the entire hinge assembly, thus significantly reducing maintenance costs and time. Furthermore, since the sliding shaft 103 adopts a double-step structure, the first step 110 slides with the side wall of the slide groove 107 to achieve a guiding function, and the second step 111 forms an interference fit with multiple protrusions 109 on the inner wall of the guide groove 108. Through a single fit relationship, the three functions of normal opening and buffering of the hood, closing and locking, and collision energy absorption are achieved simultaneously. Functions that originally required multiple independent components are integrated into one, simplifying the hinge structure, reducing the number of parts, and thus effectively saving space at the rear of the hood. This solves the problem of complex structure and large space occupation caused by the dispersion of functional modules.

[0023] Furthermore, the rotating page 101 has a positioning protrusion 112 on the side away from the first hinge arm 104, and the energy-absorbing plate 102 has a positioning hole 113, with the positioning protrusion 112 matching the positioning hole 113.

[0024] In this embodiment, the positioning protrusion 112 and the positioning hole 113 form a pre-positioning structure. When installing the energy-absorbing plate 102, the positioning hole 113 is aligned and the positioning protrusion 112 is inserted to achieve quick and accurate positioning without the need for additional tooling, which effectively improves the convenience of maintenance and replacement and the installation accuracy.

[0025] Furthermore, the energy-absorbing plate 102 is detachably fixed to the rotating page 101 by locking bolts 114, and the locking bolts 114, the positioning protrusions 112 and the positioning holes 113 are spatially distributed.

[0026] In this embodiment, the locking bolt 114 is located on the side away from the positioning hole 113, so that the fixing point of the energy-absorbing plate 102 is distributed with the predetermined position, forming a stable fixing force system, which ensures the connection reliability of the energy-absorbing plate 102 when subjected to impact.

[0027] Furthermore, the raised feature 109 is a semi-circular protrusion or a rib extending longitudinally along the guide groove 108 (the figure shows a semi-circular protrusion structure).

[0028] In this embodiment, the semi-circular protrusion and the rib are two equivalent alternatives to the raised feature 109, both of which can form an interference fit with the second step 111 of the sliding shaft 103. The semi-circular protrusion is suitable for providing intermittent damping, facilitating the implementation of a step-by-step opening prompt; the rib, on the other hand, can provide continuous damping force, resulting in smoother energy absorption. Both can be flexibly selected according to the performance requirements of different vehicle models, providing a variety of optional implementation methods.

[0029] Furthermore, when the protruding feature 109 is a rib, the cross-sectional shape of the rib is semi-circular, triangular, or trapezoidal.

[0030] In this embodiment, by changing the cross-sectional shape of the rib, the interference fit and contact stress distribution between the second step 111 and the rib can be adjusted. A semi-circular cross-section provides relatively linear damping characteristics, a triangular cross-section generates gradually increasing damping force, and a trapezoidal cross-section combines good wear resistance and stable damping output, thereby achieving precise adjustment of buffering and energy absorption characteristics.

[0031] Furthermore, the plurality of the protruding features 109 are evenly spaced along the sliding direction of the guide groove 108.

[0032] In this embodiment, the uniformly spaced arrangement ensures that the damping force experienced by the sliding shaft 103 changes periodically during movement, guaranteeing smoothness during opening and closing while providing the operator with clear tactile feedback. Simultaneously, the uniform arrangement also facilitates linear adjustment of the overall damping force by increasing or decreasing the number of protruding features 109, adapting to the hood weight and opening force requirements of different vehicle models.

[0033] Furthermore, the energy-absorbing plate 102 is made of plastic, nylon composite material or aluminum alloy.

[0034] In this embodiment, the choice of material for the energy-absorbing plate 102 directly affects its energy absorption characteristics and durability. When using nylon composite materials such as PA66+GF30, the energy-absorbing plate 102 possesses both good toughness and wear resistance, and is relatively inexpensive. When using aluminum alloy, the energy-absorbing plate 102 has higher strength and is suitable for vehicles requiring greater locking force. When using plastic, the molding process is simpler and the weight is lighter. Performance can be quickly adjusted by replacing materials.

[0035] Furthermore, the diameter of the first step 110 is smaller than the diameter of the second step 111.

[0036] In this embodiment, the first step 110 has a smaller diameter and is mainly used to cooperate with the side wall of the slide 107 to achieve the guiding function and ensure the accuracy of the hinge movement trajectory; the second step 111 has a larger diameter and forms an interference fit with the protruding feature 109, undertaking the main functions of buffering, locking and energy absorption.

[0037] Furthermore, a shear pin 115 is also installed between the rotating page 101 and the first hinge arm 104.

[0038] In this embodiment, the shear pin 115 serves as a key component for triggering pedestrian protection. Under normal conditions, it connects the rotating page 101 and the first hinge arm 104, restricting their relative movement. When a collision occurs and the active pedestrian protection system is triggered, the actuator drives the rotating page 101 to move, and the shear pin 115 breaks under shearing force, releasing the constraint between the rotating page 101 and the first hinge arm 104, allowing the rear of the cover to spring up quickly.

[0039] In summary, the active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-replacement energy-absorbing plate provided by this technical solution has the following technical advantages: First, by detachably connecting the energy-absorbing plate 102 to the rotating leaf 101, the traditional integrated or irreversible energy-absorbing structure is made into a replaceable module, directly solving the technical problem of high maintenance costs and long maintenance cycles caused by the need to replace the entire hinge assembly when the energy-absorbing structure is damaged in the prior art; Second, by utilizing the double-step structure of the sliding shaft 103, the first step 110 cooperates with the slide groove 107 to achieve guidance, and the second step 111 is interference-fitted with the multiple protrusions 109 in the guide groove 108, thereby integrating the three functions of normal opening buffer, closing locking, and collision energy absorption into a single cooperation relationship, effectively solving the technical problem of complex structure and large space occupation at the rear of the hood caused by the dispersion of functional modules. The above description discloses only one preferred embodiment of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes of the above embodiments can be implemented, and equivalent changes made in accordance with the claims of the present invention are still within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An active pedestrian protection hood hinge with a quick-change energy-absorbing panel, characterized in that, It includes a rotating page, an energy-absorbing plate, a sliding shaft, a first hinge arm, and two second hinge arms. The rotating page is rotatably mounted on one end of the first hinge arm, and two second hinge arms are rotatably mounted on the other end of the first hinge arm. The ends of the two second hinge arms away from the first hinge arm are connected to the body sheet metal. The energy-absorbing plate is detachably connected to the rotating page and is located on the side of the rotating page away from the first hinge arm. The rotating page is also provided with a sliding groove, and the energy-absorbing plate is provided with a guide groove. The guide groove coincides with the sliding groove. The sliding shaft is installed at the first hinge arm and passes through the sliding groove and the guide groove. The inner wall of the guide groove is provided with a plurality of protrusions along the sliding direction. The sliding shaft is a double-step structure, which includes a first step and a second step arranged coaxially. The first step slides with the side wall of the slide groove, and the second step forms an interference fit with the protrusions in the guide groove.

2. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating page has a positioning protrusion on the side away from the first hinge arm, and the energy-absorbing plate has a positioning hole, with the positioning protrusion matching the positioning hole.

3. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The energy-absorbing plate is detachably fixed to the rotating blade by locking bolts, and the locking bolts, the positioning protrusions, and the positioning holes are spatially distributed.

4. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The protrusion is a semi-circular protrusion or a rib extending longitudinally along the guide groove.

5. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 3, characterized in that, When the protrusion feature is a rib, the cross-sectional shape of the rib is semi-circular, triangular, or trapezoidal.

6. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multiple protruding features are evenly spaced along the sliding direction of the guide groove.

7. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The energy-absorbing panel is made of plastic, nylon composite material or aluminum alloy.

8. The active pedestrian protection hood hinge with quick-change energy-absorbing plate as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The diameter of the first step is smaller than the diameter of the second step.

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