Hinge of a leaf such as a bonnet for closing the engine compartment on a motor vehicle body

Abstract

The invention relates to a hinge (4) of a leaf such as a bonnet for closing an engine compartment on a motor vehicle body, said hinge (4) comprising a stationary part (5) and a movable part (6), the movable part (6) being mounted such that it can be rotated about a pivoting axis (A) of the stationary part (5), between an opening position and a closing position of the hinge (4), the movable part (6) having a retaining element (7) that protrudes from said movable part (6) towards the stationary part (5) in the pivoting plane of said hinge (4). According to the invention, the stationary part (5) comprises a complementary retaining element (8) along which the retaining element (6) of the movable part extends in the closed position of the hinge (4).

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a hinge for a motor vehicle opening comprising a body structure on which bodywork members are assembled, such as an opening, said body structure being obtained from a base and at least one passenger compartment side assembled together, the opening being mounted articulated on the body structure by means of said at least one hinge.

[0002] Articulation hinges are known comprising a fixed part defining an axis of rotation around which a movable knuckle is capable of pivoting in order to move an opening such as a hood for closing an engine compartment between an open position and a closed position.

[0003] The hinges for the hood of an engine compartment are often made from a material that is not very resistant to deformation, which allows for easy shaping and has the advantage of being less expensive.

[0004] Such hinges do not provide sufficient support for the hood that they connect to the vehicle's body structure when the vehicle hits an obstacle, which results in the vehicle failing to meet certain regulatory standards.

[0005] In fact, it was noted that the hinges do not sufficiently oppose the lateral movement of the hood during an impact, which increases the risk of deformation of surrounding body parts, such as a front side wing.

[0006] In particular, during a front repairable impact type impact, which is defined as an impact at 16 km / h against a rigid wall with an angle of 10° with 40% overlap, the lateral displacement of the hood (along the transverse Y axis of the vehicle) towards the outside of said hood also causes deformation of the wing and therefore results in an additional repair cost linked to the replacement or repair of the wing.

[0007] In order to avoid this Y-shaped movement, one possibility is to stiffen the moving part or moving knuckle of the hinge. However, such stiffening leads to a deterioration in head-pedestrian impact performance since the deformation path of the moving knuckle between the hood and the engine components is then very limited. Impact Repairability Before 16 km / h facing a rigid wall of 10° with 40% overlap.

[0008] FR 2 993 230 proposed a hinge for articulating an opening such as an engine compartment hood on a motor vehicle body, the movable part of which has a tab extending in projection from said movable part towards the fixed part, in the pivoting plane of the hinge. The hinge fixing support allows it to be fixed to structural elements of the body and constitutes a structural element. Thus, the fixing plate of the support allows the hinge to be fixed in Z (vertical axis of the vehicle) on the vehicle body while the wall perpendicular to the fixing plate of said support allows, by its external face, a Y-shaped fixing on a structural element of the body.

[0009] When the opening leaf which is fixed on the movable part of the hinge is in the closed position, the projecting tab of the movable knuckle extends along the internal face of the wall of the fixing support, thus interposed between the tab and a structural element on which the support is fixed and, in the event of a frontal impact against a wall, the hood or opening leaf which tends to be driven in translation in the Y direction of the vehicle is prevented by the tab which comes to bear against the wall of the fixing support of the articulation, itself fixed on a structural element of the body. Thus, during an impact, the tab comes to abutment against the wall of the fixing support interposed between said tab and an element of the body, which reinforces the retention of the hood and prevents it from tipping into a Y.

[0010] Such an assembly can be found in document US20120186044A1 and in document FR2929318A1.

[0011] This solution prevents contact between the hinge and the right wing (in the event of an impact on the left) and thus reduces vehicle repair costs in the event of an impact at 16 km / h (gain in terms of the Repairability class).

[0012] However, while such a hinge has many advantages, in some vehicle silhouettes, the positioning of the hinge is such that there is no structural element opposite this hinge to which the hinge mounting bracket can be fixed, which is then fixed to the wing lining.

[0013] In fact, during a front repairable impact type impact, which is defined as an impact at 16 km / h against a rigid wall with an angle of 10° with 40% overlap, the lateral movement of the hood (along the transverse Y axis of the vehicle) would then cause the wing to deform since there is no structural element to oppose it, which results in an additional repair cost linked to the replacement or repair of the wing.

[0014] The present invention therefore aims to overcome this drawback by proposing an articulation hinge which can be mounted directly opposite a wing without any interposed structural element and which, during a repairable impact type impact, does not cause lateral tilting of the hood type opening damaging the wing while respecting the constraints linked to head / pedestrian impact.

[0015] For this purpose, the invention relates to an articulation hinge according to claim 1.

[0016] Thus, the hinge according to the invention comprises elements for retaining the movement of an engine hood in the event of a repairable impact, arranged to extend opposite one another so that, when the hinge is mounted on one side of a vehicle body, the retaining element of the fixed part is interposed between the retaining element of the movable part and the outer side of the body, therefore for example the wing of the body, thus opposing a lateral tilting of the hood towards the wing along the Y axis of the vehicle following a repairable impact type impact on the opposite side.

[0017] In fact, when the Y-shaped hood is tilted, the retaining element of the moving part comes into contact with the retaining element of the fixed part, which limits or even prevents the Y-shaped tilt and, in particular, prevents damage to the wing.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the movable part of the hinge has a so-called swan-neck shape, that is to say having at least one curved portion. The first curve of the movable part corresponds to a hooking part, at the proximal end of the fixed part, pivotally mounted around an axis of the fixed part of the hinge while the distal end of the movable part on which the cover will be fixed can be rectilinear or have a second curve with reverse curvature.

[0019] According to the invention, the retaining element of the movable part is an anti-tilt tab which extends in radial projection on the distal part of the movable part, for example inside the second curve on the side opposite the cover, in the pivoting plane of said movable part relative to the fixed part. The fixed part has a stop element such as a retaining tab arranged on its distal part so as to extend opposite the anti-tilt tab of the movable part, in a plane parallel to the pivoting plane of the movable part relative to said fixed part.

[0020] Such a hinge therefore makes it possible to avoid the Y-shaped tipping of the hood in the event of a so-called repairable impact but also guarantees good performance in the event of a pedestrian head impact since the deformation travel of the swan-neck moving part is sufficient.

[0021] According to the invention, the retaining tab of the fixed part is constituted by the end of the distal part of the fixed part folded so as to extend perpendicularly to the fixed part then again parallel to the latter to extend opposite the anti-tipping tab so that, in the closed position of the hinge, the anti-tipping tab of the movable part extends against said retaining tab so as to come into abutment during a lateral movement called the retaining element of the side and in the mounting position on a body.

[0022] Thus, when the hinge is intended to be fixed to a wing liner, the fixed part may comprise fixing means on the hinge fixing support which are arranged opposite the stop element, so that the hinge fixing support extends on the opposite side of the fixed part relative to the stop element, the retaining tab thus being between the anti-tilt tab and the wing.

[0023] Thus, advantageously, the hinge according to this particular form of the invention makes it possible to prevent lateral Y-shaped tilting of the engine hood even in the absence of a structural element opposite the hinge.

[0024] As mentioned previously, the anti-spill tab is made in one piece with the moving part or moving knuckle in order to reduce the number of parts but also to facilitate the assembly of the hood.

[0025] Furthermore, a hinge according to the invention can advantageously be used only on the side opposite the impact. The added mass is therefore very low.

[0026] The invention relates to a vehicle body comprising at least one hinge for articulating an opening such as an engine hood, such as the invention described above, said hinge being mounted on the body so that the retaining element of the fixed part of the hinge is interposed between the retaining element of the movable part and the outer side of the body consisting at least of the wing, so that in the event of a so-called repairability impact, the stop element of the movable part abuts against the stop element of the fixed part, which prevents lateral movement of the hood towards the outer side of the body.

[0027] Thus, the articulation hinge according to the invention can be fixed to a wing lining, the hinge according to the invention preventing damage to the wing by preventing the hood from moving.

[0028] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising an opening such as a hood for closing the engine compartment articulated on the body of the vehicle using opening hinges, at least one of which is an articulation hinge according to the invention.

[0029] Other advantages and particularities of the invention emerge from the description of embodiments given below with reference to the appended drawings in which: there figure 1 is a partial schematic representation of a motor vehicle seen from the side, comprising a hinge for articulating an opening, in accordance with the invention, the figure 2 is a side perspective view of a hinge according to the invention in the closed position; the figure 3 is a side perspective view of the opposite side of the hinge of the figure 2 ; there figure 4 is a side perspective view of the hinge mounted on a box; and the figure 5 is a simplified view of the figure 4 .

[0030] Referring to the figure 1 , a zone D delimited by the mixed line locates a possible installation zone on a vehicle 1, of a hinge of an opening 2, which is advantageously intended to protect other surrounding bodywork parts, such as a front wing 3, during an impact between the vehicle and an obstacle.

[0031] The opening 2 is a hood closing an engine compartment located in the front part of the vehicle, which is a body part laterally extended by right and left front wings. Only the right front wing 3 is shown in the figure 1 , knowing that by symmetry with respect to a median plane extending parallel to a longitudinal axis x to the vehicle, a right front wing is present.

[0032] In the following, the terms "left", "right", "front" and "rear" are understood to refer to normal movement of the vehicle. It is without limitation and for the sake of clarity that, in the following, only one side of the vehicle is described, knowing of course that by symmetry, the other side of the vehicle may be affected by the same technical detail.

[0033] The articulation hinge 4 of the opening is generally arranged in zone D, that is to say close to a rear zone of the engine hood 2.

[0034] The motor vehicle preferably comprises two hinges 4 arranged in zone D of the vehicle, each hinge 4 having the main function of ensuring the opening and closing of the engine compartment by moving the hood 2 upwards and downwards respectively. To do this, the hinge 4 comprises an articulation axis A around which the hood 2 is capable of rotating.

[0035] Of simple and inexpensive design, the hinge 4 has low impact resistance, particularly when these generate transverse forces relative to the vehicle. To thus prevent buckling of the bonnet hinge 4, which results in lateral movement of the engine bonnet that it supports, and consequently damage to the front wing, the hinge 4 is provided with means for retaining the lateral movement of said engine bonnet.

[0036] According to the illustration given in figures 2 And 3, the hinge 4 comprises a fixed part also called a fixed knuckle, which is mounted securely to the body structure of the vehicle by means of a fixing support.

[0037] In the example shown, the hinge 4 is positioned on the wing lining opposite the wing 3. This hinge 4 therefore comprises a fixed part, or fixed knuckle, 5 and a mobile part or mobile knuckle 6, which can pivot relative to the fixed part along a pivot axis A.

[0038] The fixed part 5 comprises a plate 51 extending mainly in the pivoting plane of the hinge 4. The fixed part 5 comprises a distal part 5b extending along a first axis and a proximal part 5a extending along a second axis intersecting the first axis. The proximal part or connecting part 5a comprises the axis A around which the movable part 6 of the hinge 4 is rotated.

[0039] The connecting part 5b is of substantially vertical orientation in Z, once mounted, and comprises at its end, at the level of a vertex, an opening 10 forming a bearing for the rotation along the axis A of a rod of complementary shape belonging to said movable knuckle 6 while the orientation of the distal end of the fixed part is of substantially longitudinal orientation X (longitudinal axis of the vehicle).

[0040] The rod of the movable part 6 extends transversely towards the outside of the vehicle. The rod is preferably arranged at a proximal part 6a of the movable part 6, at a vertex. The opposite distal part 6b of the movable part 6, then located towards the front, is securely connected to the engine cover 2, by means of clamping screws for example.

[0041] The opening 2 is composed of an ornamental part which is visible from the outside of the vehicle, which is also called the outer skin, and a rigid part also called the opening lining, the latter being linked to the movable part 6.

[0042] The movable part 6 preferably has a swan-neck shape, i.e. having at least one curve. Thus, the proximal part 6a of the movable part 6 is provided with the rod allowing it to be pivotally mounted on the fixed part 5. This proximal part 6a extends along the proximal connecting part 5b then forms a first curve by moving away from the distal part 5a of the fixed part before extending in a linear manner, so that the distal part 6b of the movable part 6 extends substantially above and parallel to the distal part 5a. This distal part of the movable part 6 has means for fixing the cover 2.

[0043] At this distal part 6b of the movable part 6 is provided a retaining element such as a tab 7 provided projecting from said movable knuckle 6 and extending in the pivoting plane of said movable knuckle 6 relative to the fixed knuckle 5 and in the direction of said fixed knuckle 5.

[0044] Preferably, this tab 7 extends substantially radially to the distal part 6c of the movable part 6. This tab 7 thus forms a stop which projects from the movable knuckle 6 in the pivoting plane of the hinge 4.

[0045] The tab 7 is thus arranged on the hinge 4 in such a way that it extends transversely from the movable part 6 towards the fixed part 5 when the hood 2 is in the engine compartment closing position.

[0046] However, the end of the tab 7 is spaced from the distal part 5b so as not to prevent a collapse stroke (in Z) of the movable part 6 of the hinge for pedestrian impact.

[0047] The leg 7 is made in one piece with the moving part 6, for example by molding or stamping.

[0048] The distal part 5b of the fixed part 5 comprises a retaining element 8 extending projecting from said fixed part 5 and forming a bearing surface against which the tab 7 of the movable part 6 must extend, in the closed position of the hinge 4.

[0049] This stop element 8 is formed by the end of the plate 51 folded so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the main axis of the distal part 5a then folded to extend again in an axis parallel to said main axis. The bearing face 81 of the retaining element 8 extends in an offset manner relative to the fixed part 5, which allows the positioning of the tab 6 opposite said bearing face 81 of the stop element 8.

[0050] Taking into account the clearances and flushness that must be respected in the assembly of the bodywork parts of the vehicle, the lug 7 is spaced from the bearing face 81 of the stop element 8 by an interval of between 3 and 8 mm, preferably 3 mm.

[0051] Advantageously, such a small gap limits any inertia of the engine cover 2 during an impact, which makes it possible to load the lug 7 directly while limiting the risks of dispersion of the impact forces.

[0052] The hinge 4 is such that once mounted on one side of a body, the retaining element 8 of the fixed part 5 is interposed between the retaining element 7 of the movable part 6 and the outer side of the body. As a result, it is possible to mount the hinge 4 on a wing lining 11 on its face facing outwards and therefore opposite the wing 3. The retaining element 8 is thus located furthest to the outside and prevents the engine hood from moving outwards in the event of an impact by forming a stop for the retaining element 7 of the movable part 6 of the hinge.

[0053] As a result, the fixed part 5 of the hinge 4 may have means for fixing to the wing lining, which are provided on the side of the fixed part 5 opposite that where the retaining element 8 is located. Thus, the fixing plate 51 further comprises a fixing part 52 comprising orifices for fixing the fixed part 5 to a hinge fixing support which serves as a mounting interface on the body (as can be seen in FIG. figure 3 ).

[0054] The articulation according to the invention makes it possible to obtain a good compromise between pedestrian head impact and repairability, which cannot be obtained by stiffening the hinges. In fact, the articulation hinge according to the invention leaves the hood and hinges free to collapse, which is essential for pedestrian head impact.

Claims

1. Articulation hinge (4) of an opening of the hood type (2) for closing the engine compartment on a motor vehicle body, said hinge (4) comprising a fixed part (5) and a movable part (6), the movable part (6) being mounted to be rotatable about a pivot axis (A) of the fixed part (5) between an open position and a closed position of the hinge (4), the movable part (6) having a retaining element (7) extending in a projecting manner from said movable part (6) towards the fixed part (5) in the pivot plane of said hinge (4), the fixed part (5) comprising a complementary retaining element (8) along which the retaining element (6) of the movable part extends in the closed position of the hinge (4), the retaining element of the movable part (6) being a tab (7) which extends in a radial projecting manner on a distal part (6b) of the movable part (6) in the plane pivoting of said movable part (6) relative to the fixed part (7), the retaining element (8) of the fixed part (5) being a retaining tab provided on its distal part, so as to extend opposite the tab (7) of the movable part (6), in a plane parallel to the pivoting plane of the movable part (6) relative to said fixed part (5), characterized in that the retaining tab (8) of the fixed part (5) is constituted by the end of its distal part (5b) folded so as to extend perpendicularly relative to the fixed part (5) then again parallel to the latter.

2. Hinge (4) according to claim 1, characterized in that the retaining elements (7, 8) are arranged to extend facing each other so that, when the hinge is mounted on one side of a vehicle body, the retaining element (8) of the fixed part (5) is interposed between the retaining element (7) of the movable part (6) and the outer side of the body.

3. Vehicle body comprising at least one hinge (4) for articulating an opening leaf such as an engine cowl (2), mounted on one side of the body, according to either of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the retaining element (8) of the fixed part (5) of the hinge (4) is interposed between the retaining element (7) of the movable part (6) and the outer side of the body.

4. Case according to claim 3, characterized in that the hinge is fixed to a wing lining facing the wing.

5. Motor vehicle comprising an opening leaf such as a cover for closing the engine compartment articulated on the body of the vehicle by means of opening leaf hinge hinges at least one of which is an articulation hinge according to either of claims 1 and 2.

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