Hood hinge, engine hood assembly, and vehicle

Abstract

The application provides a hood hinge, an engine hood assembly and a vehicle, and belongs to the technical field of vehicle body structure. The hood hinge comprises a hinge seat, two hinge shafts, two hinge arms and two driving mechanisms. The hinge seat is fixedly connected to the vehicle body end and located between two butterfly opening parts of the engine hood. The two hinge shafts are respectively rotationally connected to the edges of the hinge seat close to the two butterfly opening parts. The two hinge arms are respectively fixedly sleeved on the two hinge shafts, extend towards the two butterfly opening parts and are correspondingly connected to the two butterfly opening parts. The two driving mechanisms are respectively fixed to the hinge seat, and the output ends of the two driving mechanisms are correspondingly connected to the two hinge shafts. The hood hinge provided by the application can reduce the number of hinges and save the arrangement space of the supporting mechanism, thereby not only being beneficial to improving the compactness of the butterfly opening type engine hood mounting structure, but also being capable of simplifying the structure of the engine hood assembly and promoting the cost reduction and weight reduction of the vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of vehicle body structure technology, and more specifically, relates to a hood hinge, an engine hood assembly, and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] More and more vehicles are now being equipped with butterfly-style engine hoods, which are more convenient to use than conventional one-piece front-opening hoods. Especially for models with storage space in the engine compartment, butterfly-style engine hoods are more popular in the market.

[0003] The butterfly-shaped engine hood requires two opening axes to achieve the butterfly opening function. Currently, it is usually installed by configuring two or even more hinges. At the same time, corresponding auxiliary support mechanisms need to be configured for the two butterfly opening parts of the hood. The disadvantages of this installation structure are that it occupies a lot of space, has high cost, and is not conducive to vehicle body lightweighting. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a hood hinge, an engine hood assembly, and a vehicle, which aims to improve the compactness of the mounting structure of the butterfly-type engine hood and promote cost reduction and weight reduction of the engine hood assembly.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted in this application is as follows: Firstly, embodiments of this application provide a hood hinge, comprising: The hinge seat is fixedly connected to the end of the vehicle body and located between the two butterfly openings of the engine hood; Two hinge shafts are rotatably connected to the edges of the hinge seat near the two butterfly openings, respectively. Two hinge arms are respectively fixedly sleeved on the two hinge shafts, and the two hinge arms extend toward the two butterfly openings and are correspondingly connected to the two butterfly openings; Two drive mechanisms are fixed to the hinge base, and the output ends of the two drive mechanisms are respectively connected to the two hinge axes.

[0006] The hood hinge provided in this application embodiment, compared with the prior art, arranges hinge shafts on both sides of the hinge seat and connects two hinge arms to the two hinge shafts respectively, so that both hinge arms can swing independently relative to the hinge seat. Based on this structure, it is only necessary to fix the hinge seat to the vehicle body end located between the two butterfly openings and fix the two hinge arms to the two butterfly openings respectively, so that the two butterfly openings can be flexibly opened with their respective hinge shafts as their respective opening axes. Compared with the prior art installation method that requires at least one hinge for each butterfly opening, it can reduce the number of hinges and improve the compactness of the butterfly-type engine hood mounting structure.

[0007] By setting two drive mechanisms on the hinge seat to drive the two hinge shafts to rotate, the butterfly opening and closing of the butterfly opening connected to the two hinge arms can be realized electrically. Compared with the existing technology that requires a power assist support mechanism such as an electric telescopic support rod to realize the automatic opening and closing of the butterfly opening, integrating the rotational power of the hinge arms on the hinge seat can improve the integration of the butterfly engine hood mounting structure, save the space occupied by the power assist support mechanism, and thus further improve the compactness of the mounting structure.

[0008] Since the single hood hinge provided in this application embodiment can achieve the combined function of two conventional hinges plus a power assist support mechanism, it can not only reduce the number of hinge placement points and eliminate the power assist support mechanism to free up more space inside the engine compartment, but also help reduce the installation structure cost and weight of the butterfly-shaped engine hood, thereby promoting cost reduction and weight reduction of the vehicle.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the drive mechanism includes: The housing is fixedly connected to the hinge seat; The drive motor is fixedly connected inside the housing and electrically connected to the vehicle control system; A speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component is disposed within the housing and has a power input end and a power output end. The power input end is connected to the drive motor, and the power output end is connected to the hinge shaft.

[0010] In the above technical solution, the housing not only facilitates reliable fixing to the hinge seat, but also prevents the drive motor and speed-reducing torque-increasing transmission components from being exposed, thereby eliminating the risk of external debris getting stuck in the speed-reducing torque-increasing transmission components and causing the hinge arm to be unable to rotate, thus improving the operational stability of the drive mechanism.

[0011] The drive motor is controlled by the vehicle control system. When the vehicle control system issues a command to open the hood, the drive motor rotates forward and transmits power to the hinge shaft through a speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component. This causes the hinge arm, fixed to the hinge shaft, to swing upward, which in turn causes the butterfly flap, fixed to the hinge arm, to flip upward and open. When the vehicle control system issues a command to close the hood, the drive motor rotates in reverse and transmits power to the hinge shaft through a speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component. This causes the hinge arm, fixed to the hinge shaft, to swing downward, which in turn causes the butterfly flap, fixed to the hinge arm, to flip downward and close. Since the two drive motors each act on a hinge shaft, the two butterfly flaps can be opened and closed independently.

[0012] Considering that a smaller micro motor is more suitable for the drive motor to save installation space, and that the butterfly opening part relies entirely on the rotation of the hinge shaft to achieve opening and closing, which requires a large torque, a speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component is used to reduce the high-speed rotational power output by the drive motor, thereby amplifying the torque transmitted to the hinge shaft. This not only ensures that the hinge arm receives sufficient flipping driving force, but also avoids excessive swing of the hinge arm, which would cause the butterfly opening part to vibrate during opening and closing, thus improving the stability of the butterfly opening part's opening and closing process.

[0013] For example, the speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component includes: The worm gear is rotatably connected inside the housing as the power input end; The worm gear is rotatably connected inside the housing and meshes with the worm. A reduction gear set is disposed inside the housing and serves as the power output end connected to the worm gear.

[0014] In the above technical solution, the meshing of the worm gear and worm has a high transmission ratio characteristic, which helps to achieve a better speed reduction and torque increase effect in a small space and improve the compactness of the transmission structure. Moreover, the worm driving the worm wheel to rotate can obtain unidirectional transmission self-locking performance, so that the butterfly opening can be stably opened under the drive of the hinge arm. The transmission self-locking is used to offset the reverse load generated on the drive motor after the butterfly opening is opened, thereby reducing the loss of the drive motor and improving its service life.

[0015] Based on the power reversal and speed reduction and torque increase achieved by the meshing transmission of worm and worm wheel, the overall transmission ratio is further improved by arranging a reduction gear set in the space between the worm wheel and the hinge shaft, thereby promoting the improvement of speed reduction and torque increase effect, so as to ensure that the drive motor can stably drive the opening and closing of the butterfly opening and ensure sufficient power.

[0016] For example, the reduction gear set includes: The first gear is coaxially connected to the worm gear; The second gear is rotatably connected inside the housing and meshes directly or indirectly with the first gear for transmission. The rotating shaft of the second gear passes through the housing and is connected to the hinge shaft.

[0017] In the above technical solution, one or more pairs of meshing reduction gears can be arranged according to the internal space of the housing. If the reduction gear set includes a pair of reduction gears, then its pinion serves as the first gear, and the large gear serves as the second gear, directly meshing with the first gear. If the reduction gear set includes two or more pairs of reduction gears, then the first gear and the second gear achieve transmission through intermediate stages of reduction gears, that is, the two form indirect meshing. By using at least one stage of gear reduction and torque amplification combined with the transmission torque amplification of the worm gear and worm, the power sufficiency and operational stability of the butterfly opening and closing process are improved.

[0018] In some embodiments, the hinge seat is provided with hinge ears on both sides along the width direction of the vehicle body, and the area between the hinge ears on both sides of the hinge seat forms a mounting plane; wherein, the two hinge shafts are respectively passed through one of the hinge ears, and the mounting plane is fitted and fixed to the end of the vehicle body.

[0019] In the above technical solution, a hinge shaft is inserted through the hinge lugs on both sides of the hinge seat along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The hinge shaft and the hinge lugs are in a rotational fit. The hinge lugs ensure that the hinge arm has sufficient swing space after being connected to the hinge shaft, avoiding motion interference. A mounting plane is formed between the two hinge lugs, which is used to fit and fix the hinge seat to the vehicle body end, thereby ensuring the stability of the hinge seat at the vehicle body end and improving the connection reliability and opening and closing stability of the butterfly mechanism.

[0020] In some embodiments, the two drive mechanisms have ear plates extending toward each other, and the mounting plane has grooves for the ear plates to be inserted.

[0021] In the above technical solution, the drive mechanism can be positioned by setting the ear plate and engaging the groove on the mounting plane, thereby improving the installation convenience and assembly accuracy of the drive mechanism; in addition, the engagement of the ear plate with the groove can also constrain the swing freedom of the drive mechanism, thereby improving the connection reliability of the drive mechanism and preventing the drive mechanism from deflecting or misaligning due to reaction force when outputting load.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the bottom of the groove is provided with a mounting hole, and the ear plate is provided with a connecting hole, the connecting hole being aligned with the mounting hole and both being used to jointly insert a fastener.

[0023] In the above technical solution, fasteners such as bolts are connected to the vehicle body end by passing through aligned connecting holes and mounting holes during assembly. This improves the reliability of the ear plate in the groove, thereby improving the assembly reliability of the drive mechanism. It also enables the integrated assembly of the drive mechanism and the hinge seat, thereby improving the structural compactness.

[0024] For example, the two drive mechanisms are positioned at both ends of the hinge seat along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and each of the two drive mechanisms is provided with a limiting post, and the front and rear ends of the hinge seat are provided with limiting grooves; each limiting post is respectively engaged with each limiting groove.

[0025] In the above technical solution, considering that the hinge seat has hinge axes on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body, the two drive mechanisms are placed at the front and rear ends of the hinge seat to avoid motion interference problems, thereby making reasonable use of the space on the hinge seat and ensuring the overall structural compactness. On this basis, in order to improve the connection reliability of the drive mechanism and avoid misalignment of the drive mechanism under force, a locking structure of limit post and limit groove is set. Here, the limit groove is used to limit the limit post, thereby restricting the degree of freedom of the drive mechanism to slide and swing relative to the hinge seat.

[0026] Secondly, this application also provides an engine hood assembly, including a hood body and the aforementioned hood hinge; wherein, the hood body includes two butterfly openings symmetrically arranged along the width direction of the vehicle body, and the two butterfly openings are connected to the vehicle body end by the hood hinge.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, the engine hood assembly provided in this application embodiment has two butterfly-shaped opening sections of the hood body connected to the vehicle body end by the aforementioned hood hinges. Compared with the prior art, which requires hinge connections and auxiliary support mechanisms for each butterfly opening section, this reduces the number of hinges and saves the space required for the auxiliary support mechanism. Therefore, it not only improves the compactness of the butterfly-shaped engine hood mounting structure, but also simplifies the structure of the engine hood assembly, promoting cost reduction and weight reduction in vehicles.

[0028] Thirdly, embodiments of this application also provide a vehicle including the aforementioned engine hood assembly.

[0029] The vehicle provided in this application embodiment adopts the above-mentioned engine hood assembly compared with the prior art. Compared with the installation method of the butterfly-type engine hood in the prior art, which requires the separate installation of hinge connection and auxiliary support mechanism for each butterfly part, it can reduce the number of hinges and save the arrangement space of the auxiliary support mechanism. Therefore, it can not only improve the compactness of the butterfly-type engine hood installation structure, but also simplify the structure of the engine hood assembly and promote the reduction of vehicle cost and weight. Attached Figure Description

[0030] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, 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 this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0031] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the mounting structure of the hood hinge and the engine hood provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 2A three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the hood hinge provided in an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the drive mechanism (with the housing removed) used in the embodiments of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the drive mechanism used in the embodiments of this application; Figure 5 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the hinge seat used in the embodiments of this application.

[0032] In the diagram: 10, hinge seat; 11, hinge ear; 12, mounting plane; 121, groove; 1211, mounting hole; 122, reinforcing hole; 13, limiting groove; 20, hinge shaft; 30, hinge arm; 40, drive mechanism; 401, ear plate; 4011, connecting hole; 402, limiting post; 41, housing; 42, drive motor; 43, speed reduction and torque increase transmission component; 431, worm; 432, worm wheel; 433, reduction gear set; 4331, first gear; 4332, second gear; 50, butterfly opening; 60, body end. Detailed Implementation

[0033] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0034] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "set on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element. It should be understood that the terms "length," "width," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0035] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "a few" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0036] It should be noted that the directions or positional relationships indicated by "front", "rear", "inner", "outer", "up", and "down" in this embodiment are based on the vehicle's own orientation. The front of the vehicle represents "front", the rear of the vehicle represents "rear", the top of the vehicle represents "up", the bottom of the vehicle represents "down", the "inner" side refers to the side facing the driver's cab, and the "outer" side refers to the side facing the driver's cab.

[0037] In addition, the front-rear direction of the vehicle body as defined in the embodiments of this application refers to the front-rear direction of the vehicle's forward direction during driving; the left-right direction of the vehicle body as defined refers to the left-right direction of the vehicle's forward direction during driving; and the up-down direction of the vehicle body as defined refers to the up-down direction of the vehicle's forward direction during driving.

[0038] In existing technology, a butterfly-shaped engine hood consists of two side-opening butterfly sections. It is called a butterfly hood because when both sections are fully opened, they form a shape resembling butterfly wings. Typically, each butterfly section needs at least one hinge to connect to the vehicle body. To ensure a stable opening after the butterfly sections flip upwards, each section also requires a power-assisted support mechanism, commonly an electrically telescopic support rod. Of course, for manually operated butterfly sections, a gas spring rod or a rigid support rod without power assistance can be used.

[0039] Considering the structure of the butterfly-shaped engine hood, its connection to the vehicle body depends on the vehicle body structural components located in the middle of the engine compartment in the width direction, such as the longitudinal beam structure in the middle of the engine compartment. Therefore, the vehicle body end mentioned in the following embodiments can be understood as the part of the vehicle body located in the middle of the engine compartment for installing the butterfly-shaped engine hood.

[0040] Please refer to the following: Figures 1 to 5 The hood hinge provided in this application is described below. The hood hinge includes a hinge base 10, two hinge shafts 20, two hinge arms 30, and two drive mechanisms 40. The hinge base 10 is fixedly connected to the vehicle body end 60 and located between the two butterfly openings 50 of the engine hood. The two hinge shafts 20 are rotatably connected to the edges of the hinge base 10 near the two butterfly openings 50. The two hinge arms 30 are fixedly sleeved on the two hinge shafts 20, extending towards and correspondingly connecting to the two butterfly openings 50. The two drive mechanisms 40 are fixedly fixed to the hinge base 10, and their output ends are correspondingly connected to the two hinge shafts 20.

[0041] It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the connection between the hinge shaft 20 and the hinge seat 10 can be achieved by perforating the edge of the hinge seat and pressing in a bushing, with the hinge shaft 20 passing through the bushing to form a rotational fit; the connection between the hinge shaft 20 and the hinge arm 30 adopts a fixed connection structure, specifically, the hinge shaft 20 can pass through the end of the hinge arm 30 and a circumferential anti-rotation structure can be provided between the two, or the connection part between the hinge shaft 20 and the hinge arm 30 can be set as a spline plug fit or a polygonal fit section structure to restrict the relative rotational freedom of the two, thereby ensuring that when the drive mechanism 40 drives the hinge shaft 20 to rotate, the hinge arm 30 can swing accordingly, thereby opening or closing the butterfly opening part 50 fixed to the hinge arm 30.

[0042] In this embodiment, each of the two hinge shafts 20 is driven independently by one of the drive mechanisms 40, thereby enabling the independent opening and closing of the two butterfly opening sections 50 and improving the flexibility of the engine hood opening method. Specifically, the drive mechanism 40 can be controlled by the vehicle control system and execute corresponding actions based on control commands to achieve automatic opening and closing of the butterfly opening section 50. Alternatively, the drive mechanism 40 can be activated via a control panel or control button located on the vehicle body 60. For example, when the control button is pressed, the drive mechanism 40 rotates the hinge shaft 20 clockwise, thus opening the butterfly opening section 50; when the control button is pressed again, the drive mechanism 40 rotates the hinge shaft 20 counterclockwise, thus closing the butterfly opening section 50. Of course, other control methods can also be used for the drive mechanism 40, and are not limited here.

[0043] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the drive mechanism 40 can output power using either an electric component such as an electric motor or a pneumatic component such as a pneumatic motor. Considering that supplying power to the drive mechanism 40 is more convenient than supplying air, an electric component is preferred. Since the angle at which the drive mechanism 40 drives the hinge shaft 20 to rotate is controllable, the butterfly opening section 50 can be opened to any angle within the design range based on requirements. After opening to the correct position, the butterfly opening section 50 can be maintained in its current state using the braking force of the drive mechanism 40 itself. Therefore, there is no need to configure an additional auxiliary support mechanism to support the butterfly opening section 50.

[0044] Compared with the prior art, the hood hinge provided in this application arranges hinge shafts 20 on both sides of the hinge base 10, and connects two hinge arms 30 to the two hinge shafts 20 respectively, so that both hinge arms 30 can swing independently relative to the hinge base 10. Based on this structure, it is only necessary to fix the hinge base 10 to the vehicle body end 60 located between the two butterfly opening parts 50, and fix the two hinge arms 30 to the two butterfly opening parts 50 respectively, so that the two butterfly opening parts 50 can be flexibly opened with the corresponding hinge shaft 20 as their respective opening axis. Compared with the installation method of the prior art that requires at least one hinge for each butterfly opening part 50, it can reduce the number of hinges and improve the compactness of the butterfly-type engine hood mounting structure.

[0045] By setting two drive mechanisms 40 on the hinge seat 10 to drive the two hinge shafts 20 to rotate, the butterfly opening and closing of the butterfly opening 50 connected to the two hinge arms 30 can be realized. Compared with the existing technology that requires a power assist support mechanism such as an electric telescopic support rod to realize the automatic opening and closing of the butterfly opening 50, integrating the rotation power of the hinge arms 30 on the hinge seat 10 can improve the integration of the butterfly engine hood mounting structure, save the space occupied by the power assist support mechanism, and thus further improve the compactness of the mounting structure.

[0046] Since the single hood hinge provided in this application embodiment can achieve the combined function of two conventional hinges plus a power assist support mechanism, it can not only reduce the number of hinge placement points and eliminate the power assist support mechanism to free up more space inside the engine compartment, but also help reduce the installation structure cost and weight of the butterfly-shaped engine hood, thereby promoting cost reduction and weight reduction of the vehicle.

[0047] In some embodiments, the drive mechanism 40 described above may employ, for example... Figure 3 The structure shown is as follows. The drive mechanism 40 includes a housing 41, a drive motor 42, and a speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component 43; wherein, the housing 41 is fixedly connected to the hinge seat 10; the drive motor 42 is fixedly connected inside the housing 41 and is electrically connected to the vehicle control system; the speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component 43 is disposed inside the housing 41 and has a power input end and a power output end, the power input end is connected to the drive motor 42, and the power output end is connected to the hinge shaft 20.

[0048] By setting the housing 41, a relatively enclosed protective space can be provided for the drive motor 42 and the speed reduction and torque increase transmission component, thereby avoiding the exposure of the drive motor 42 and the speed reduction and torque increase transmission component 43, eliminating the risk of external debris getting stuck in the speed reduction and torque increase transmission component 43 and causing the hinge arm 30 to be unable to rotate, and improving the operational stability of the drive mechanism 40.

[0049] Since the housing 41 is easier to form a relatively neat structure in terms of shape compared to the drive motor 42 and the speed reduction and torque increase transmission component 43, connecting the housing 41 to the hinge seat 10 is more conducive to reducing the installation difficulty and improving the installation stability.

[0050] The drive motor 42 is controlled by the vehicle control system. When the vehicle control system issues a command to open the hood, the drive motor 42 rotates forward and transmits power to the hinge shaft 20 through the speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component 43. This causes the hinge arm 30, which is fixed to the hinge shaft 20, to swing upward, thereby causing the butterfly opening portion 50, which is fixed to the hinge arm 30, to flip upward and open. When the vehicle control system issues a command to close the hood, the drive motor 42 rotates in reverse and transmits power to the hinge shaft 20 through the speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component. This causes the hinge arm 30, which is fixed to the hinge shaft 20, to swing downward, thereby causing the butterfly opening portion 50, which is fixed to the hinge arm 30, to flip downward and close. Since the two drive motors 42 each act on one hinge shaft 20, the two butterfly opening portions 50 can be opened and closed independently.

[0051] Considering that the drive motor 42 is more suitable to use a smaller micro motor to save installation space, and the butterfly opening part 50 relies entirely on the rotation of the hinge shaft 20 to achieve the large torque required for opening and closing, a speed reduction and torque amplification transmission component 43 is used to reduce the high-speed rotational power output by the drive motor 42, thereby amplifying the torque transmitted to the hinge shaft 20. This not only ensures that the hinge arm 30 obtains sufficient flipping driving force, but also avoids the hinge arm 30 swinging too fast, which would cause the butterfly opening part 50 to vibrate during the opening and closing process, thereby improving the stability of the opening and closing process of the butterfly opening part 50.

[0052] As one specific embodiment of the aforementioned speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component 43, please refer to Figure 3 The speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component 43 includes a worm 431, a worm wheel 432, and a reduction gear set 433; wherein, the worm 431 is rotatably connected to the housing 41 as the power input end; the worm wheel 432 is rotatably connected to the housing 41 and meshes with the worm 431; the reduction gear set 433 is located in the housing 41 and is connected to the worm wheel 432 as the power output end.

[0053] Since the butterfly opening 50 is a side-opening type, the hinge shaft 20 needs to be along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. If the motor shaft of the drive motor 42 is set parallel to the hinge shaft 20, it will result in a large space occupied by the overall structure along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body. Therefore, the meshing transmission of the worm gear 432 and the worm 431 can change the transmission direction, thereby enabling the drive motor 42 to be horizontally installed in the housing 41 along the width direction of the vehicle body. This utilizes the space of the hinge seat 10 along the width direction of the vehicle body to arrange the drive motor 42, which is beneficial to improving the structural compactness.

[0054] Furthermore, the meshing of the worm gear 432 and worm 431 has a high transmission ratio characteristic, which helps to achieve a better speed reduction and torque increase effect in a small space and improves the compactness of the transmission structure. On this basis, the rotation of the worm gear 431 by the worm 432 can achieve unidirectional transmission self-locking performance, so that the butterfly opening part 50 can be stably opened under the drive of the hinge arm 30. The transmission self-locking is used to counteract the reverse load generated on the drive motor 42 after the butterfly opening part 50 is opened. Not only can the self-locking of the worm gear 432 and worm 431 be used to make the hinge arm 30 stably stay at the required swing angle, thereby replacing the role of the assist support mechanism, but it can also avoid the wear of the drive motor 42 by the reverse load, which is conducive to improving the service life of the drive motor 42.

[0055] Based on the power reversal and speed reduction and torque increase achieved by the meshing transmission of worm 431 and worm wheel 432, the overall transmission ratio is further improved by arranging a reduction gear set 433 in the space between worm wheel 432 and hinge shaft 20, thereby promoting the improvement of speed reduction and torque increase effect, so as to ensure that the drive motor 42 can stably drive the butterfly opening part 50 to open and close, and ensure sufficient power.

[0056] It should be noted that, as Figure 2 As shown, in order to save space and improve the compactness of the transmission structure, in this embodiment, while meeting the opening and closing angle requirements of the butterfly opening part 50, the worm gear 432 can be set as a fan shape or a semi-circle.

[0057] For example, such as Figure 3 As shown, the reduction gear set 433 includes a first gear 4331 and a second gear 4332; wherein, the first gear 4331 is coaxially connected to the worm gear 432; the second gear 4332 is rotatably connected inside the housing 41 and directly or indirectly meshes with the first gear 4331 for transmission, and the rotating shaft of the second gear 4332 passes through the housing 41 and is connected to the hinge shaft 20.

[0058] In the above technical solution, one or more pairs of meshing reduction gears can be arranged according to the internal space of the housing 41. If the reduction gear set 433 includes a pair of reduction gears, then its small gear is the first gear 4331, and the large gear is the second gear 4332, which meshes directly with the first gear 4331. If the reduction gear set 433 includes two or more pairs of reduction gears, then the first gear 4331 and the second gear 4332 are transmitted through intermediate reduction gears, that is, the two form indirect meshing.

[0059] Taking two pairs of reduction gears as an example, the small gear of the first pair is connected coaxially with the worm gear 4332 as the first gear 4331, and the large gear meshes with the small gear, i.e., the first gear 4331. The small gear of the second pair is connected coaxially with the large gear of the first pair, and the large gear of the second pair meshes with its small gear as the second gear 4332. In this way, two-stage reduction and torque increase can be achieved from the first gear 4331 to the second gear 4332 to ensure that the hinge shaft 20 obtains sufficient torque, thereby improving the power sufficiency and operation stability of the butterfly opening part 50 during the opening and closing process.

[0060] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, in combination with Figure 2 and Figure 5 It is understood that the hinge seat 10 has hinge ears 11 on both sides along the width direction of the vehicle body, and the area between the hinge ears on both sides of the hinge seat 10 forms a mounting plane 12; wherein, two hinge shafts 20 are respectively passed through one of the hinge ears 11, and the mounting plane 12 is fitted and fixed to the vehicle body end 60.

[0061] Since the engine hood is typically a curved structure, the hinge ears 11 on both sides of the hinge seat 10 can extend at an angle to offset the height difference between the butterfly opening 50 and the vehicle body end 60, thereby avoiding motion interference during the opening and closing of the butterfly opening. Furthermore, the hinge ears 11 can have a clearance groove in the middle for the end of the hinge arm 30 to extend into. This allows the side walls of the clearance groove to limit the hinge arm 30 axially on the hinge shaft 20, thereby improving the connection reliability and smoothness of the hinge arm 30.

[0062] A hinge shaft 20 is inserted along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body using the hinge lugs 11 on both sides of the hinge seat 10. The hinge shaft 20 and the hinge lugs 11 are in a rotational fit. The hinge lugs 11 ensure that the hinge arm 30 has sufficient swing space after being connected to the hinge shaft 20, avoiding motion interference. A mounting plane 12 is formed between the two hinge lugs 11. The mounting plane 12 is used to fit and fix the hinge seat 10 to the vehicle body end 60, thereby ensuring the fixed stability of the hinge seat 10 at the vehicle body end 60, and thus improving the connection reliability and opening and closing stability of the butterfly opening part 50.

[0063] See Figure 4 and Figure 5 In order to improve the connection reliability of the drive mechanism 40 on the hinge seat 10, in this embodiment, the two drive mechanisms 40 have ear plates 401 extending toward each other, and the mounting plane 12 is provided with a groove 121 for the ear plates 401 to be inserted.

[0064] In this drive mechanism 40, the ear plate 401 is engaged with the groove 121 on the mounting plane 12 to position the drive mechanism 40, thereby improving the installation convenience and assembly accuracy of the drive mechanism 40; in addition, the engagement of the ear plate 401 with the groove 121 can also constrain the swing freedom of the drive mechanism 40, thereby improving the connection reliability of the drive mechanism 40 and preventing the drive mechanism 40 from deflecting or misaligning due to reaction force when outputting load.

[0065] Among some possible implementations, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 4 and Figure 5 The groove 121 has a mounting hole 1211 at the bottom and a connecting hole 4011 on the ear plate 401. The connecting hole 4011 is aligned with the mounting hole 1211 and both are used to pass through fasteners.

[0066] During assembly, fasteners such as bolts are passed through the aligned connecting holes 4011 and mounting holes 1211 and connected to the vehicle body end 60. This improves the engagement reliability of the ear plate 401 in the groove 121, thereby improving the assembly reliability of the drive mechanism 40. On the other hand, it enables the integrated assembly of the drive mechanism 40 and the hinge seat 10, thereby improving the structural compactness.

[0067] In order to further ensure the connection strength between the hinge seat 10 and the vehicle body end 60, on the basis of the above, the hinge seat 10 is also provided with a number of reinforcing holes 122 on the outside of the groove 121, and fasteners are inserted into each reinforcing hole 122 to fasten it to the vehicle body end 60.

[0068] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 2 The two drive mechanisms 40 are respectively placed at both ends of the hinge seat 10 along the front and rear direction of the vehicle body, and each drive mechanism 40 is provided with a limiting post 402, and the front and rear ends of the hinge seat 10 are provided with limiting grooves 13; each limiting post 402 is respectively engaged with each limiting groove 13.

[0069] Considering that the hinge seat 10 has hinge shafts 20 on both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body, in order to avoid motion interference, the two drive mechanisms 40 are placed at the front and rear ends of the hinge seat 10, thereby making reasonable use of the space on the hinge seat 10 and ensuring the overall structural compactness. On this basis, in order to improve the connection reliability of the drive mechanism 40 and avoid misalignment of the drive mechanism 40 under force, a locking structure between the limiting post 402 and the limiting groove 13 is set. Here, the limiting groove 13 is used to limit the limiting post 402, thereby restricting the degree of freedom of the drive mechanism 40 to slide and swing relative to the hinge seat 10.

[0070] Based on the same inventive concept, combined with Figures 1 to 5It is understood that this application embodiment also provides an engine hood assembly, including a hood body and the aforementioned hood hinge; wherein, the hood body includes two butterfly opening portions 50 symmetrically arranged along the width direction of the vehicle body, and the two butterfly opening portions 50 are connected to the vehicle body end 60 by the hood hinge.

[0071] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the hood hinge can preferably be arranged at the middle position of the body end 60 (the part of the body located in the middle of the engine compartment, such as the middle longitudinal beam of the engine compartment) in the front-rear direction of the body, so as to ensure that the butterfly opening part 50 is subjected to balanced force. At the same time, considering that the butterfly opening part 50 usually has a curvature in the front-rear direction of the body, arranging the hood hinge in the middle area of ​​the body end 60 is beneficial to ensure that the motion envelope of the butterfly opening part 50 near its connection part (such as the middle longitudinal beam of the engine compartment) is minimized, thereby avoiding motion interference during the opening and closing of the butterfly opening part 50.

[0072] Compared with the prior art, the engine hood assembly provided in this application embodiment has two butterfly-shaped opening sections 50 of the hood body connected to the vehicle body end 60 by the aforementioned hood hinges. Compared with the prior art, which requires a hinge connection and auxiliary support mechanism for each butterfly opening section 50, this reduces the number of hinges and saves the space for the auxiliary support mechanism. Therefore, it not only improves the compactness of the butterfly-shaped engine hood mounting structure, but also simplifies the structure of the engine hood assembly, promoting cost reduction and weight reduction in the vehicle.

[0073] Based on the same inventive concept, this application also provides a vehicle including the above-described engine hood assembly.

[0074] The vehicle provided in this application embodiment adopts the above-mentioned engine hood assembly compared with the prior art. Compared with the prior art, which requires 50 hinge connections and auxiliary support mechanisms for each butterfly-shaped engine hood, the number of hinges can be reduced and the space for arranging auxiliary support mechanisms can be saved. Therefore, it not only helps to improve the compactness of the butterfly-shaped engine hood installation structure, but also simplifies the structure of the engine hood assembly and promotes cost reduction and weight reduction of the vehicle.

[0075] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A hood hinge, characterized in that include: The hinge seat is fixedly connected to the end of the vehicle body and located between the two butterfly openings of the engine hood; Two hinge shafts are rotatably connected to the edges of the hinge seat near the two butterfly openings, respectively. Two hinge arms are respectively fixedly sleeved on the two hinge shafts, and the two hinge arms extend toward the two butterfly openings and are correspondingly connected to the two butterfly openings; Two drive mechanisms are fixed to the hinge base, and the output ends of the two drive mechanisms are respectively connected to the two hinge axes.

2. The hood hinge of claim 1, wherein The drive mechanism includes: The housing is fixedly connected to the hinge seat; The drive motor is fixedly connected inside the housing and electrically connected to the vehicle control system; A speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component is disposed within the housing and has a power input end and a power output end. The power input end is connected to the drive motor, and the power output end is connected to the hinge shaft.

3. The hood hinge of claim 2, wherein The speed-reducing and torque-increasing transmission component includes: The worm gear is rotatably connected inside the housing as the power input end; The worm gear is rotatably connected inside the housing and meshes with the worm. A reduction gear set is disposed inside the housing and serves as the power output end connected to the worm gear.

4. The hood hinge of claim 3, wherein The reduction gear set includes: The first gear is coaxially connected to the worm gear; The second gear is rotatably connected inside the housing and meshes directly or indirectly with the first gear for transmission. The rotating shaft of the second gear passes through the housing and is connected to the hinge shaft.

5. The hood hinge of claim 1, wherein The hinge seat is provided with hinge ears on both sides along the width direction of the vehicle body, and the area between the hinge ears on both sides of the hinge seat forms a mounting plane; wherein, the two hinge shafts are respectively passed through one of the hinge ears, and the mounting plane is fitted and fixed to the end of the vehicle body.

6. The hood hinge of claim 5, wherein The two drive mechanisms have ear plates extending toward each other, and the mounting plane has grooves for the ear plates to be inserted.

7. The hood hinge of claim 6, wherein The groove bottom is provided with a mounting hole, and the ear plate is provided with a connecting hole. The connecting hole is aligned with the mounting hole and both are used to pass through a fastener.

8. A hood hinge according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein The two drive mechanisms are positioned at both ends of the hinge seat along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and each of the two drive mechanisms is provided with a limiting post. The front and rear ends of the hinge seat are provided with limiting grooves. Each limiting post is respectively engaged with each limiting groove.

9. An engine hood assembly, characterized in that, The hood body includes a hood body and a hood hinge as described in any one of claims 1-8; wherein the hood body includes two butterfly openings symmetrically arranged along the width direction of the vehicle body, and the two butterfly openings are connected to the vehicle body end by the hood hinge.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the engine hood assembly as described in claim 9.

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