AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE HOOD LOCK BRACKET

Abstract

HOOD LOCK SUPPORT FOR MOTOR VEHICLE The present invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising:- a front upper cross member (4.1);- a front transverse beam (16);- a connecting piece (14) with a rear end (14.1) fixed to the front upper cross member and a front end (14.2) fixed to the front transverse beam; - a hood lock (8); noteworthy in that the hood lock is fixed to the connecting piece, at the front of the front upper cross member. (Figure to be published with the abstract: Figure 6)

Description

Title of the invention: HOOD LOCK SUPPORT FOR MOTOR VEHICLE Technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of motor vehicles, more particularly the field of motor vehicle locks. Prior art

[0002] Conventionally, hood locks of motor vehicles are generally arranged at the front upper cross members. There are some models of motor vehicles having a hood that is longitudinally longer than on other models.

[0003] For this purpose, the hood nose generally comprising a hook or lock bolt making it possible to secure the closure of the hood by engaging with the lock, is in a position offset forwards relative to the crossmember of the motor vehicle.

[0004] Published document CN 211115276 U discloses a motor vehicle comprising a hood lock housed in an upper crossmember made of plastic material. A reinforcing plate is disposed above the hood lock and the crossmember, and extends forward to a bumper beam. However, the solution disclosed by the document does not allow the lock to be effectively brought closer to the hood nose of the motor vehicle. Statement of the invention

[0005] The present invention aims to overcome at least one of the drawbacks of the aforementioned state of the art. More particularly, the invention aims to propose a simple and economical solution making it possible to bring the hood closing lock of a motor vehicle closer to the nose of said hood.

[0006] To this end, the invention relates to a motor vehicle comprising: - a front upper cross member; - a front cross beam; - a connecting piece with a rear end fixed to the front upper cross member and a front end fixed to the front transverse beam; - a hood lock; remarkable in that the hood lock is fixed to the connecting piece, at the front of the front upper crossmember.

[0007] Preferably, the connecting piece is located in a central part of the front upper cross member. Alternatively, the connecting piece may be transversely offset from the central part of the front upper cross member, especially in the presence of two locks to be fixed on two connecting parts, respectively.

[0008] Advantageously, the front transverse beam is a front bumper beam.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the connecting piece comprises an intermediate portion between the front and rear ends, said intermediate portion being vertical and comprising a notch at an upper edge of said intermediate portion, allowing a bolt to pass over the hood when said hood is in the closed position.

[0010] By the term “vertical” qualifying the intermediate portion, we mean a generally vertical orientation with a tolerance of ±20°, preferably ±15°, more preferably ±10°, relative to the vertical.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the rear end and the intermediate portion form an angle of between 60° and 120°, the notch being formed in said angle and in a front edge of the rear end.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the connecting piece comprises laterally on either side of the intermediate portion a reinforcing rib.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the rear end comprises, at a rear edge of said rear end, two longitudinal hook-shaped tabs capable of engaging in two orifices, respectively, of the front upper cross member, by a pivoting movement from the top to the bottom of the connecting piece.

[0014] According to one embodiment, each of the two legs extends vertically and has a stepped profile.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the connecting piece is a stamped sheet metal, the two tabs being formed by cutting and folding said sheet metal.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the orifices are rectangular.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the lock is distant from a front edge of the crosspiece. front of at least 20mm.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the front end of the connecting piece is fixed to the front transverse beam by means of a vertical fixing lug fixed against a rear face of said front transverse beam.

[0019] The measures of the invention are advantageous in that the connecting piece allows the hood lock to be moved longitudinally forward and as close as possible to the latch at the hood nose, while guaranteeing an unchanged shape even in the presence of tensile and compressive forces linked to the opening and closing of the hood.

[0020] In addition, the assembly of the connecting part on the motor vehicle is simple and rapid, allowing a considerable saving of time during the assembly of said motor vehicle. Brief description of the drawings

[0021] [Fig.l] represents a perspective view of a motor vehicle comprising a lock and a hood in the open position, said vehicle being according to the invention;

[0022] [Fig.2] represents a sectional view along a longitudinal and vertical plane crossing a front part of the motor vehicle of [Fig.l], in which the hood is in the closed position;

[0023] [Fig.3] represents a perspective view of a front upper cross member of the motor vehicle of [Fig.l]

[0024] [Fig.4] represents a perspective view of the connecting piece of [Fig.2], fixed on the front upper cross member of [Fig.3];

[0025] [Fig.5] represents a side view illustrating the mounting of the connecting piece of [Fig.4] on the front upper cross member of [Fig.3];

[0026] [Fig.6] represents a perspective view of the connecting piece of [Fig.4] mounted both on the front upper cross member of [Fig.3] and on the front transverse beam of the motor vehicle of the invention. Detailed description

[0027] [Fig.l] illustrates a perspective view of a motor vehicle 2 comprising a body structure 4 with a front upper cross member 4.1, and a hood 6 disposed at the front of the structure 4.

[0028] The motor vehicle 2 comprises a hood lock 8, fixed by means of a connecting piece (not shown here) acting as a support for the lock 8 and the design of which will be detailed in the present description.

[0029] The lock 8 is preferably provided with a movable striker, in this case pivoting, capable of engaging with a bolt 10 located at a front edge 6.1 of the cover 6, commonly referred to as the nose of the cover 6. The bolt is advantageously a metal wire forming a loop.

[0030] When the hood 6 is opened, the latch of the lock 8 is controlled, initially, by a cable connected to a hood opening control lever arranged in the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle 2. It is controlled in a second step after the cable has been actuated, by a lever, in particular in the form of a tongue 12, arranged at the front edge 6.1 of the hood 6 allowing the bolt 10 to be released from the latch, so as to allow the hood 6 to pivot and move from a half-open position to the open position illustrated. Such pivoting is ensured by two hinges 13 arranged laterally on either side of the hood 6 in line with a rear edge 6.2 of said hood 6.

[0031] [Fig.2] represents a sectional view along a vertical longitudinal plane crossing a front part of the motor vehicle 2 of [Fig.l].

[0032] It can be seen that the bolt 10 of the cover 6, in the closed position, is longitudinally offset (along the X axis) to the front of the front upper cross member 4.1.

[0033] It can be seen that the lock 8 is fixed to the connecting piece 14, which makes it possible to move said lock 8 longitudinally towards the bolt 10 at the level of the hood nose 6.

[0034] Such an offset corresponds to a longitudinal distance d present between the lock 8 and a front edge 5 of the front upper crosspiece 4.1, said distance d being equal to at least 20mm and can be up to 200mm.

[0035] In this respect, the connecting piece 14 comprises a rear end 14.1 fixed to the front upper cross member 4.1 and a front end 14.2 fixed to a front transverse beam 16 of the vehicle 2. This makes it possible to cantilever the lock 8 while guaranteeing rigidity and fixed holding in position of said lock 8.

[0036] [Fig. 3] represents a perspective view of the front upper cross member 4.1 of the motor vehicle 2 of [Fig. 1].

[0037] The upper crosspiece 4.1 comprises an upper part 5.1 provided with two orifices 5.2, in this case rectangular, intended to receive by insertion tabs (not illustrated here) belonging to the connecting piece.

[0038] The upper part 5.1 also comprises two fixing barrels 5.4 each comprising an insert to allow screw fixing of the connecting piece onto the crosspiece 4.1.

[0039] Preferably, the upper part 5.1 further comprises a flat bearing surface 5.3 advantageously enabling the crossmember to withstand compressive forces of approximately 250 daN (the term “approximately” corresponds to ±10% of the nominal value) originating from the closing of the vehicle hood.

[0040] [Fig.4] represents a perspective view of the connecting piece 14.

[0041] It can be seen that the rear end 14.1 comprises a rear edge 14.3 from which two hook-shaped legs 15 extend vertically and longitudinally rearwardly.

[0042] The two legs 15 are parallel and have a stepped profile, thus allowing them to engage in the two orifices 5.2 of the upper crosspiece. This advantageously allows the connecting piece 14 to be pre-maintained in position, in particular in the transverse direction Y, on the crosspiece prior to its final fixing.

[0043] The connecting piece 14 comprises an intermediate portion 18 between the front 14.1 and rear 14.2 ends, forming an angle α of between 60° and 120° with the rear end 14.1, said intermediate portion 18 being preferably vertical and parallel to the vertical direction Z.

[0044] The intermediate portion 18 comprises an upper edge 18.1 (corresponding to a front edge of the rear end 14.1) provided with a notch 18.2 allowing the passage of the hood bolt when said hood is in the closed position, as illustrated in [Fig.2],

[0045] Advantageously, the connecting piece 14 also comprises a reinforcing rib 14.4 arranged laterally on either side of the intermediate portion 18, so as to provide an “anti-unfolding” effect and resistance to tensile and compressive forces to said intermediate piece 14.

[0046] Preferably, the connecting piece 14 is a stamped sheet metal part, the two tabs 15 being formed by cutting and folding said sheet metal. Alternatively, the connecting piece may correspond to a molded part made of aluminum or steel.

[0047] [Fig.5] represents a side view illustrating the mounting of the connecting piece 14 on the front upper cross member 4.1.

[0048] The insertion movement of the tabs 15 into the two orifices of the upper part 5.1 of the reverse 4.1 is represented by the dotted arrow A, this insertion movement makes it possible to longitudinally engage the connecting piece 14 in order to maintain it in position along the axis X.

[0049] Then, this insertion is followed by a pivoting movement, represented by the arrow B, from the top to the bottom of the connecting piece 14, so as to bring the rear end 14.1 into contact with the flat bearing surface 5.3, and thus fix the connecting piece 14 by screwing onto the crosspiece 4.1.

[0050] The pivoting movement B also makes it possible to bring the front end back 14.2 of the connecting piece 14 in contact with the front transverse beam of the motor vehicle, this contact is visible in [Fig.6].

[0051] [Fig. 6] represents a perspective view of the connecting piece 14 mounted both on the front upper cross member 4.1 and on a front transverse beam 16 of the motor vehicle of the invention.

[0052] It can be seen that the front end 14.2 of the connecting piece 14 is fixed by means of two screws 17 to the front transverse beam 16 by means of a vertical fixing lug 16.1 fixed against a rear face 16.2 of said transverse beam 16.

[0053] In this configuration, the connecting piece 14 makes it possible to offset the hood lock longitudinally towards the front of the motor vehicle, while guaranteeing an unchanged shape of said connecting piece 14, in particular when there are tensile and compressive forces when opening and closing the hood, and also in high-speed driving conditions where the hood is sucked upwards.

Claims

Claims

1. Motor vehicle (2) comprising: - a front upper cross member (4.1); - a front transverse beam (16); - a connecting piece (14) with a rear end (14.1) fixed to the front upper cross member (4.1) and a front end (14.2) fixed to the front transverse beam (16); and - a hood lock (8) (6), the hood lock (8) (6) being fixed to the connecting piece (14), in front of the front upper cross member (4.1), characterized in that the rear end (14.1) comprises, at a rear edge (14.3) of said rear end (14.1), two longitudinal hook-shaped tabs (15) capable of engaging in two orifices (5.2), respectively, of the front upper cross member (4.1), by a pivoting movement (B) from the top to the bottom of the connecting piece (14).

2. Motor vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the connecting piece (14) comprises an intermediate portion (18) between the front (14.2) and rear (14.1) ends, said intermediate portion (18) being vertical and comprising a notch (18.2) at an upper edge (18.1) of said intermediate portion (18), allowing passage of a bolt (10) on the hood (6) when said hood (6) is in the closed position.

3. Motor vehicle (2) according to claim 2, wherein the rear end (14.1) and the intermediate portion (18) form an angle (a) of between 60° and 120°, the notch (18.2) being formed in said angle (a) and in a front edge (18.1) of the rear end (14.1).

4. Motor vehicle (2) according to one of claims 2 and 3, in which the connecting piece (14) comprises laterally on either side of the intermediate portion (18) a reinforcing rib (14.4).

5. Motor vehicle (2) according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which each of the two legs (15) extends vertically and has a stepped profile.

6.

7.

8.

9. Motor vehicle (2) according to one of claims 1 and 5, in which the connecting piece (14) is a stamped sheet metal, the two tabs (15) being formed by cutting and folding said sheet metal. Motor vehicle (2) according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which the two orifices (5.2) are rectangular. Motor vehicle (2) according to one of claims 1 to 7, in which the lock (8) is at least 20 mm apart from a front edge (5) of the front cross member (4.1). Motor vehicle (2) according to one of claims 1 to 8, in which the front end (14.2) of the connecting piece (14) is fixed to the front transverse beam (16) by means of a vertical fixing lug (16.1) fixed against a rear face (16.2) of said front transverse beam (16).

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