Plunging prevention device

Abstract

To provide a new plunging prevention device which enables a peripheral vehicle and person to easily recognize its presence even in a dark place such as night.SOLUTION: A light-emitting body 14' for emitting light backward is arranged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an intrusion prevention device disposed at the lower end of the rear surface of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Article 18-2 of the Road Transport Vehicle Safety Standards (Ministry of Transport Ordinance No. 67 of 1951) stipulates that "the rear of a motor vehicle (excluding two-wheeled motor vehicles, two-wheeled motor vehicles with sidecars, light motor vehicles with tracks and sleds, large special motor vehicles (excluding pole trailers), small special motor vehicles, and towing motor vehicles) must be equipped with an intrusion prevention device that meets the standards set by notification regarding strength, shape, etc., in order to effectively prevent the front part of the vehicle from intruding into the underside of the leading vehicle when the following vehicle rear-ends it." The intrusion prevention device is installed with the purpose of preventing the front part of the vehicle of the following vehicle from intruding into the underside of the leading vehicle when the following vehicle rear-ends it, and an example is shown in the following Patent Document 1. The intrusion prevention device is also called a rear bumper. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-153636 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The presence of the intrusion prevention device prevents the front of the vehicle body of the following vehicle from intruding into the lower part of the preceding vehicle when the following vehicle rear-ends the preceding vehicle. On the other hand, it is also important to make the following vehicle aware of the presence of the preceding vehicle before the following vehicle rear-ends the preceding vehicle and to prompt the following vehicle to pay attention. In particular, since a vehicle that transports cargo such as a truck on which an intrusion prevention device is installed is generally high in height and there is a considerable distance between the taillights and the ground, the visibility of the lower end of the rear of the vehicle is quite poor in dark places such as at night. Therefore, even if an intrusion prevention device is provided at the lower end of the rear of the preceding vehicle, if the following vehicle has a lower vehicle height than the preceding vehicle, the driver of the following vehicle has difficulty in recognizing the preceding vehicle while traveling, and there is a risk of accidentally crashing into the intrusion prevention device of the preceding vehicle. In addition, even if the vehicle is stopped, in dark places such as at night, workers working around the vehicle have difficulty in recognizing the intrusion prevention device and may accidentally bump into it and be injured.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned facts, and its main technical objective is to provide a new and improved intrusion prevention device that can easily make surrounding vehicles and people aware of its presence even in dark places such as at night. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] As a result of extensive research, the present inventors have found that the above-mentioned main technical problem can be solved by providing a light-emitting body that emits light backward in the vehicle intrusion prevention device.

[0007] In other words, according to the present invention, as an intrusion prevention device that solves the above-mentioned main technical problem, there is provided an intrusion prevention device that is arranged at the lower end of the rear surface of the vehicle and is characterized in that an light-emitting body that emits light toward the rear is arranged.

[0008] Preferably, the light emitter emits light obliquely upward toward the rear. In this case, the light emitter is preferably disposed on the upper surface. Also, it is preferable that a flat mounting surface inclined downward toward the front is provided at the front end of the upper surface, and a mounting bracket containing the light emitter is fixed to the mounting surface. Furthermore, the light emitter and the mounting bracket are elongated, and the mounting surface extends linearly in the vehicle width direction, and the mounting bracket includes a first wall fixed to the mounting surface, a second wall rising from an intermediate portion of the first wall, and a third wall rising from a side edge of the second wall opposite to the first wall, the inner surface of the third wall facing the inner surface of the first wall, and the light emitter is preferably contained in a space surrounded by the first wall, the second wall, and the third wall. And, it is preferable that a locking means is formed on the side edge of the inner surface of the third wall opposite to the second wall, and the light emitter is locked by the locking means. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the intrusion prevention device constructed according to the present invention, the light-emitting element emits light toward the rear, making it easy for surrounding vehicles and people to recognize the presence of the intrusion prevention device even in dark places such as at night. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a lower end portion of a rear surface of a vehicle equipped with a preferred embodiment of an intrusion prevention device configured according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the rear surface of a modified example of the intrusion prevention device shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 13 is a perspective view of the lower end portion of the rear surface of a vehicle equipped with another embodiment of an intrusion prevention device configured according to the present invention; FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is an enlarged view of an upper end portion of the cross-sectional view of the intrusion prevention device shown in FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] A more detailed description will now be given with reference to the attached drawings showing preferred embodiments of an intrusion prevention device constructed according to the present invention. In the following description, the front-rear, left-right, up-down, and inside-outside directions are based on the traveling direction of the vehicle in which the intrusion prevention device is installed, unless otherwise specified.

[0012] With reference to FIG. 1, an intrusion prevention device generally designated by the numeral 2 is disposed at the rear end of the underside of a vehicle such as a truck. In FIG. 1, the rear end of a ladder frame 100 constituting a part of the vehicle is indicated by a two-dot chain line, and the intrusion prevention device 2 is disposed at the rear end of the ladder frame 100. In the illustrated embodiment, the intrusion prevention device 2 is divided into three in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction). The intrusion prevention device 2a located at the center is fixed to the rear end surfaces of each of a pair of side members 102 of the ladder frame 100. Meanwhile, the intrusion prevention devices 2b and 2c located on both sides are each fixed to the rear end surfaces of auxiliary side members 106 extending rearward from both side ends of a cross member 104 located at the rear end of a plurality of cross members of the ladder frame 100. There is a required gap between two intrusion prevention devices adjacent in the width direction, that is, between the intrusion prevention device 2a and the intrusion prevention devices 2b and 2c. A well-known tailgate device 108 is also disposed at the rear end of the ladder frame. The tailgate device 108 includes a floor plate 110 and a pair of support arms 112. The base ends of the pair of support arms 112 are connected to the ladder frame 100, and their tips support the underside of the floor plate 110. The pair of support arms 112 are rotated about the base ends as a rotation axis by a driving means including an appropriate hydraulic mechanism, thereby causing the floor plate 110 to rise and fall, etc. When rotating, the pair of support arms 112 pass through the required gap, and interference with the intrusion prevention device 2 is avoided.

[0013] In the intrusion prevention device constructed according to the present invention, it is important that a light emitter that emits light toward the rear is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, the intrusion prevention device 2 has a hollow body 4 of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that extends linearly in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the light emitter is embedded in the internal space of the body 4. Therefore, in this embodiment, the light emitter is not shown in the drawings. The light emitter may be of any type, such as an LED. The body 4 is made of metal and has sufficient strength. Two slits 8 that extend linearly in the vehicle width direction are provided on the rear surface 6 of the body 4 at intervals in the vertical direction. The slits 8 communicate with the internal space from the rear surface 6 of the body 4, and light emitted from the light emitter (not shown) leaks out from the internal space of the body 4 through the slits 8 to the outside. Thus, the light emitter emits light toward the rear. If desired, instead of providing the slits 8 on the rear surface 6, one or more circular through holes 8a that communicate with the internal space as shown in FIG. 2 may be provided on the rear surface 6a. The through hole 8a may have any shape. Furthermore, the main body 4 may be solid instead of hollow, and when the main body 4 is solid, the light emitter may be directly disposed on the rear surface 6. Furthermore, the light emitter may be disposed on the upper surface of the main body 4 via a mounting bracket or the like, which will be described later.

[0014] According to the intrusion prevention device configured according to the present invention, the light emitter emits light toward the rear, so that the presence of the intrusion prevention device can be easily recognized by surrounding vehicles and people even in a dark place such as at night. Therefore, the light emission pattern of the light emitter may be any pattern such as continuous or flashing. The light emitter may be turned on manually or in conjunction with lights such as headlights. Furthermore, the light emitter may be turned on in conjunction with the movement of the floor plate 110 of the tailgate device 108. In this case, the light emission state of the light emitter, i.e., the light emission pattern and color, etc., are changed according to the operation state of the floor plate 110, i.e., the stopped state, the lifting / lowering operation state, or the rotating operation state, so that the operation state of the floor plate 110 can be notified to the surroundings and also serves to call attention to the surroundings. The operation state of the floor plate 110 may be detected by an appropriate sensor.

[0015] Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the lower end of the rear of a vehicle equipped with another embodiment of an intrusion prevention device configured according to the present invention. In the intrusion prevention device of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 described above, the light emitter emits light toward the rear, but in the intrusion prevention device of this embodiment, the light emitter emits light diagonally upward toward the rear, which is a difference from the intrusion prevention device of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. However, since the overall configuration is the same, the same components will be marked with "" and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0016] Explaining with reference to Figures 3 and 4, a flat mounting surface 12' that slopes downward toward the front is provided at the front end of the upper surface of the intrusion prevention device 2', and in this embodiment, the light emitter 14' is disposed on the mounting surface 12' via a holding member 16' and a mounting bracket 18'. The light emitter 14', the holding member 16' and the mounting bracket 18' are elongated, and the mounting surface 12' extends linearly in the vehicle width direction.

[0017] The light emitter 14' in the illustrated embodiment is the same as the long light emitter shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6727727, which was filed by the applicant of the present application prior to the present application and has already been granted a patent, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted. The cross section of the holding member 16' is U-shaped, and the light emitter 14' is housed and held inside the holding member 16'. The light emitter 14' is protected by being housed inside the holding member 16'. The holding member 16' is made of synthetic resin and transmits light emitted from the light emitter 14'. The mounting bracket 18' is made of metal and includes a first wall 20' fixed to the mounting surface 12', a second wall 22' standing at the middle of the first wall 20', and a third wall 24' standing from the side edge of the second wall 22' opposite to the first wall 20' and having an inner surface facing the inner surface of the first wall 20'. The light emitter 14' is accommodated together with the holding member 16' in a space surrounded by the first wall 20', the second wall 22', and the third wall 24'. The open side of the holding member 16', which has a U-shaped cross section, faces the inner surface of the third wall 24', preventing the light emitter 14' from falling off the holding member 16'. In addition, a locking means 26' is formed on the side edge of the inner surface of the third wall 24' opposite to the second wall 22', and the holding member 16' is locked by the locking means 26', preventing the holding member 16' from falling off the space. The locking means 26' is a protrusion extending linearly in the longitudinal direction. If desired, the light emitter 14' may be directly accommodated in the space surrounded by the first wall 20', the second wall 22', and the third wall 24' without being accommodated and held inside the holding member 16', and may be locked by the locking means 26'.

[0018] In the intrusion prevention device of this embodiment, the light emitter 14' emits light obliquely upward toward the rear, so visibility is better than when the light emitter emits light toward the rear.

[0019] Although the intrusion prevention device configured according to the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the attached drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the intrusion prevention device was divided into three parts in the left-right direction because the tailgate device 108 was provided, but if the tailgate device 108 is not present, the intrusion prevention device does not need to be divided. Just to be clear, the light emitter may be of any type. [Explanation of symbols]

[0020] 2: Intrusion prevention device 12´: Mounting surface 14´:Light source 18´:Mounting bracket

Claims

1. 1. An intrusion prevention device disposed at a lower end of a rear surface of a vehicle, the device comprising: a light-emitting body that emits light toward the rear;

2. 2. The intrusion prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitter emits light obliquely upward toward the rear.

3. 3. The intrusion prevention device according to claim 2, wherein the light emitter is disposed on an upper surface.

4. 4. The intrusion prevention device according to claim 3, wherein a flat mounting surface is provided at the front end of the upper surface, the flat mounting surface being inclined downward toward the front, and a mounting bracket housing the light emitter is fixed to the mounting surface.

5. The light emitter and the mounting bracket are elongated, and the mounting surface extends linearly in the vehicle width direction, The intrusion prevention device of claim 4, wherein the mounting bracket comprises a first wall fixed to the mounting surface, a second wall rising from an intermediate portion of the first wall, and a third wall rising from a side edge portion of the second wall opposite the first wall and whose inner surface faces the inner surface of the first wall, and the light emitter is contained in a space enclosed by the first wall, the second wall, and the third wall.

6. 6. The intrusion prevention device according to claim 5, wherein a locking means is formed on an inner side edge of the third wall opposite to the second wall, and the light emitter is locked by the locking means.

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