Bumper rubber

Abstract

To provide a bumper rubber which does not require manufacturing of a similar bumper rubber different in groove width of a helical groove, makes it easy to manage a bumper rubber formed article, and can reduce manufacturing cost and management cost because it is possible to attach one bumper rubber to panels different in plate thickness.SOLUTION: A bumper rubber 10 has: a columnar rubber body 11; a pressure receiving part 12; and a helical groove 13 which is formed on an outer periphery of the rubber main body and is screwed in a hole peripheral part 5a of a mounting hole 5 protruded on a vehicle body panel 4. The helical groove has an inner peripheral part 13a on a groove bottom surface 14 side and an outer peripheral part 13b on a groove opening edge 17 side. Of a pair of vertical inner side surfaces 15, 16 facing each other in an axial direction with the groove bottom surface 14 in between, the inner side surface on an upper side is formed into a downward inclined shape, so that groove width W is formed to become increasingly smaller from a large groove width W1 of the inner peripheral part to a groove width W2 of the outer peripheral part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an improved technology of a bumper rubber for reducing impacts, vibrations, noises, etc. when an opening and closing body such as an engine hood or a trunk lid of an automobile is closed.

Background Art

[0002] As a conventional bumper rubber, the one described in Patent Document 1 below is known.

[0003] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front side of an automobile showing a state in which a bumper rubber according to the prior art or the present invention is attached to a vehicle body panel or an engine hood of the automobile, and FIG. 9 is a front view showing a conventional bumper rubber.

[0004] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the conventional bumper rubber 1 described in this Patent Document 1 is a columnar rubber main body 6 attached to a mounting hole 5 formed in a body panel 4 constituting an opening and closing member such as an engine hood 3 of an automobile 2 or an engine room 2a, and has a pressure receiving portion 7 at one axial end of the rubber main body 6, which the engine hood 3 abuts against, and a constricted portion 8 formed between the rubber main body 6 and the pressure receiving portion 7.

[0005] Hereinafter, the case where the bumper rubber 1 is attached to the mounting hole 5 formed in the body panel 4 will be described.

[0006] As shown in FIG. 9, the rubber main body 6 is formed with a spiral groove 9 that is screwed and engaged with the hole edge portion 5a of the mounting hole 5 on the outer periphery, and is attached to the body panel 4 through this spiral groove 9, and the height of the pressure receiving portion 7 can be adjusted by adjusting the screwing amount.

[0007] The pressure receiving portion 7 is formed in a trumpet shape, and when the engine hood 3 is closed, it is compressed and deformed by this compression load, and the inclined connecting portion overlaps the outer periphery of the constricted portion 8 and is bent and deformed to absorb impacts and rattles.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Document

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] However, in the bumper rubber of Patent Document 1, the groove width W of the spiral groove 9 of the rubber body 6 is formed uniformly throughout. Therefore, when forming the spiral groove 9, the groove width W is formed in accordance with the wall thickness (plate thickness) t of the vehicle body panel 4 in consideration of attachment performance such as preventing the rubber body 6 from falling off from the hole edge of the attachment hole 5 and rattling. As a result, many bumper rubber products with similar shapes have to be manufactured according to the difference in the wall thickness t of the vehicle body panel 4, and each time the wall thickness t of the vehicle body panel 4 is adjusted, a molding die for the bumper rubber 1 has to be manufactured. For this reason, the manufacturing cost of the bumper rubber 1 has inevitably increased.

[0010] Furthermore, if there are many similar products of the bumper rubber 1, there is a risk of attaching a product that does not match the wall thickness t when attaching to the attachment hole 5. Therefore, since it is necessary to strictly manage the inventory of the bumper rubber 1, which is a molded product, the management cost also becomes high.

[0011] The present invention has been devised in view of the technical problems of the conventional bumper rubbers. Since one bumper rubber can be attached to panels with different wall thicknesses, it is no longer necessary to manufacture similar bumper rubbers with different groove widths of the spiral groove, and the management of the bumper rubber molded products becomes easy, and the manufacturing cost and management cost can be reduced. The present invention provides a bumper rubber.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0012] The invention according to claim 1 of the present application is a bumper rubber in which a spiral groove is formed on the outer periphery of a columnar rubber body and is screwed into the edge of a mounting hole formed in an opening / closing member or a mating member, The spiral groove is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section and has an inner peripheral portion on the groove bottom surface side and an outer peripheral portion on the groove opening edge side that is formed continuously with the inner peripheral portion. It is characterized in that the groove width of the outer peripheral portion is formed smaller than the groove width of the inner peripheral portion.

Effects of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, since it becomes possible to attach a single bumper rubber to panels with different thicknesses, it is not necessary to manufacture similar bumper rubbers with different groove widths of the spiral groove, and the management of the bumper rubber molded product becomes easy, and the manufacturing cost and the management cost can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the bumper rubber according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state where the bumper rubber of the first embodiment is attached to the mounting holes of the vehicle body panel. FIG. 3(a) is a longitudinal sectional view of the bumper rubber of this embodiment, (b) is an enlarged view of part A in (a), and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the main part showing the difference in groove width between the inner peripheral part and the outer peripheral part of the spiral groove of the bumper rubber of this embodiment.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of mounting holes 5 are formed through a vehicle body panel 4 which is a mating member having an engine room 2a where an engine hood 3 is opened and closed at a predetermined position. The bumper rubber 10 according to the present invention is attached to the mounting holes 5.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the bumper rubber 10 is integrally formed of a rubber material which is an elastic material as a whole. It has a cylindrical rubber body 11 located in the upper part of the figure, a pressure receiving part 12 which is at one end in the axial direction of the rubber body 11, that is, the upper end, and against which the lower surface of the engine hood 3 abuts, and a spiral groove 13 formed on the outer peripheral part of the rubber body 11 and screwed into the hole edge part 5a of the mounting hole 5 of the vehicle body panel 4.

[0019] When the engine hood 3 is closed, when the lower surface of the engine hood 3 elastically contacts the upper surface 12a of the pressure receiving portion 12, the rubber main body 11 attenuates and reduces impacts, vibrations, noises, etc. by the elastic reaction force of the whole including the pressure receiving portion 12. The shape, size, etc. of the rubber main body 11 are appropriately set according to the application object, specifications, uses, etc.

[0020] The pressure receiving portion 12 is formed in a solid and short cylindrical shape, the outer diameter d is formed to be the same size as the outer diameter of the rubber main body 11, and the upper surface 12a is formed flat.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3(a)(b), the spiral groove 13 formed on the outer peripheral portion of the rubber main body 11 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has a groove bottom surface 14, a pair of inner side surfaces 15, 16 facing each other in the vertical axis direction with the groove bottom surface 14 interposed therebetween, and a groove opening edge 17 on the side opposite to the groove bottom surface 14. This spiral groove 13 enables adjustment of the height of the pressure receiving portion 12 screwed into the hole edge portion 5a of the mounting hole 5 of the vehicle body panel 4.

[0022] Then, as shown in FIGS. 3(b) and 4, in the drawing, the lower inner side surface 16 is formed substantially horizontally, but the upper inner side surface 15 is formed to be inclined downward at a predetermined angle θ from the groove bottom surface 14 to the groove opening edge 17. As a result, in the spiral groove 13, the groove width W2 of the outer peripheral portion 13b on the groove opening edge 17 side is formed smaller than the groove width W1 of the inner peripheral portion 13a on the groove bottom surface 14 side. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the groove width W1 of the inner peripheral portion 13a on the groove bottom surface 14 side is set to a size of about 1.4 mm generally used as the maximum plate thickness t2 of the vehicle body panel 4. On the other hand, the groove width W2 of the outer peripheral portion 13b on the groove opening edge 17 side is set to a size of about 0.8 mm generally used as the minimum plate thickness t1 of the vehicle body panel 4. Since the upper inner side surface 15 is formed to be inclined downward from the groove bottom surface 14 side to the groove opening edge 17, the groove widths W1 and W2 are continuously formed so as to gradually decrease from the maximum width of 1.4 mm on the groove bottom surface 14 side to the minimum width of 0.8 mm on the groove opening edge 17 side. 〔Action and effect of the bumper rubber of this embodiment〕 FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the edge portion of the mounting hole of the thin body panel is screwed and fitted into the spiral groove of the bumper rubber of the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the edge portion of the mounting hole of the thick body panel is screwed and fitted into the spiral groove of the bumper rubber of the present embodiment.

[0023] Hereinafter, the operation and effect of the bumper rubber 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. According to the bumper rubber 10 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when the plate thickness t1 of the vehicle body panel 4 is the minimum, when the edge portion 5a of the mounting hole 5 of the vehicle body panel 4 is screwed and engaged into the spiral groove 13, since the edge portion 5a of the mounting hole 5 is held in a clamped state from above and below on the outer peripheral portion 13b side of both inner surfaces 15 and 16, the bumper rubber 10 is stably and surely held and fixed to the edge portion 5a.

[0024] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, when the plate thickness t2 of the vehicle body panel 4 is the maximum, when the edge portion 5a of the mounting hole 5 of the vehicle body panel 4 is screwed and engaged into the spiral groove 13, the upper inner surface 15 on the outer peripheral portion 13b side with a narrow width between both inner surfaces 15 and 16 is bent and deformed upward and expanded as shown by the two-dot chain line, and the edge portion 5a of the mounting hole 5 is stably held and supported in a state of being elastically crimped from above and below.

[0025] As described above, according to the bumper rubber 10 of the present embodiment, since one spiral groove 13 can correspond to different plate thicknesses t of the vehicle body panel 4, it is not necessary to manufacture many bumper rubbers 10 with different groove widths. As a result, it is not necessary to manufacture a molding die for the bumper rubber 10 each time according to the plate thickness t of the vehicle body panel 4, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0026] Moreover, since it is not necessary to manufacture a large number of similar products of the bumper rubber 10, it is not necessary to strictly manage the inventory of the bumper rubber 1. As a result, the management cost of the bumper rubber 10 can also be reduced. 〔Second Embodiment〕 Figs. 7(a) and 7(b) show a second embodiment of the bumper rubber according to the present invention. The basic configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the inclined surfaces of the inner surfaces 15 and 16 facing each other above and below the spiral groove 13 are reversed.

[0027] That is, in Fig. 7, the upper inner surface 15 of the spiral groove 13 is formed substantially horizontally, while the lower inner surface 16 is formed to be inclined upward at a predetermined angle θ from the groove bottom surface 14 to the groove opening edge 17. As a result, in the spiral groove 13, the groove width W2 of the outer peripheral portion 13b on the groove opening edge 17 side is formed smaller than the groove width W1 of the inner peripheral portion 13a on the groove bottom surface 14 side. Each of these groove widths W1 and W2 is set to 1.4 mm and 0.8 mm, respectively, as in the first embodiment.

[0028] Therefore, similar to the bumper rubber 10 of the first embodiment, the bumper rubber 10 of this second embodiment can also correspond to different plate thicknesses t of the vehicle body panel 4 with one spiral groove 13. Thus, there is no need to manufacture many bumper rubbers 10 with different groove widths. As a result, there is no need to produce a molding die for the bumper rubber 10, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0029] Also, since there is no need to manufacture a large number of similar products of the bumper rubber 10, there is no need to strictly manage the inventory of the bumper rubber 1. As a result, the management cost of the bumper rubber 10 can also be reduced. 〔Third Embodiment〕 Figs. 8(a) and 8(b) show a third embodiment of the bumper rubber 10 according to the present invention, in which the inner surfaces 15 and 16 facing each other above and below the spiral groove 13 are formed with the same inclined surfaces to form a symmetric shape.

[0030] That is, in FIG. 8(b), the inner surface 15 on the upper side of the spiral groove 13 is formed to be inclined downward at a predetermined angle θ1 from the groove bottom surface 14 to the groove opening edge 17, and the inner surface 16 on the lower side is formed to be inclined upward at the same angle θ1 as the upper inner surface 15 from the groove bottom surface 14 to the groove opening edge 17, so that it is formed in a dovetail cross-section and the upper and lower inner surfaces 15 and 16 are symmetrical. Note that both angles θ1 and θ1 are set to angles smaller than the angle θ in the first and second embodiments, respectively.

[0031] Therefore, the spiral groove 13 is formed to gradually narrow from the inner peripheral portion 13a on the groove bottom surface 14 side to the outer peripheral portion 13b on the groove opening edge 17 side, and the groove width W2 of the outer peripheral portion 13b is formed to be smaller than the groove width W1 of the inner peripheral portion 13a.

[0032] Therefore, similar to those in the first and second embodiments, the bumper rubber 10 of this second embodiment can also correspond to different plate thicknesses t of the vehicle body panel 4 with one spiral groove 13, so there is no need to manufacture many bumper rubbers 10 with different groove widths. As a result, there is no need to produce a molding die for the bumper rubber 10, so the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[0033] In addition, since there is no need to manufacture a large number of similar products of the bumper rubber 10, there is no need to strictly manage the inventory of the bumper rubber 1. As a result, the management cost of the bumper rubber 10 can also be reduced.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above embodiments. For example, as the application target of the bumper rubber 10, in addition to the vehicle body panel 4 on the engine room side, it may be applied to the mounting hole on the engine hood 3 side, and it is also possible to apply it to the vehicle body panel on the trunk room side and the mounting holes formed in the trunk lid as an opening and closing member, respectively.

[0035] In addition, the groove widths W1 and W2 of the inner peripheral portion 13a and the outer peripheral portion 13b of the spiral groove 13 are not fixed and can be further arbitrarily changed according to the size of the plate thickness t of the vehicle body panel 4 or the like.

[0036] The structure of the bumper rubber 10 is not limited to that of the embodiment, and it can also be applied to those described in the above publication or those with still other structures.

[0037] Since the present invention has technical significance in changing the groove widths W1 and W2 of the inner peripheral portion 13a and the outer peripheral portion 13b of the spiral groove 13, it is also possible to change the respective inner surfaces 15 and 16 to a shape other than a linear shape, for example, a concavo-convex shape.

[0038] In each of the above embodiments, since the bumper rubber 10 is attached to the mounting hole 5 formed in the vehicle body panel 4, the pressure receiving portion 12 is on the upper side in the drawing. However, depending on other mounting targets such as the engine hood 3, the pressure receiving portion 12 may be on the lower side or the side portion.

[0039] As the bumper rubber based on the embodiments described above, for example, those in the following aspects can be considered.

[0040] That is, as a preferable aspect of the bumper rubber according to the present invention, there is provided a bumper rubber in which a spiral groove that is screwed into the hole edge portion of a mounting hole formed in an opening / closing member or a mating member is formed on the outer periphery of a columnar rubber main body, the spiral groove is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section and has an inner peripheral portion on the groove bottom surface side and an outer peripheral portion that is continuously formed with the inner peripheral portion and is on the groove opening edge side, characterized in that the groove width of the outer peripheral portion is formed smaller than the groove width of the inner peripheral portion.

[0041] According to this aspect of the invention, since one bumper rubber can be attached to panels with different plate thicknesses, it becomes unnecessary to manufacture similar bumper rubbers with different groove widths of the spiral groove, and the management of the bumper rubber molded product becomes easy, and the manufacturing cost and the management cost can be reduced.

[0042] More preferably, the spiral groove has a pair of inner surfaces that face each other in the axial direction with the groove bottom surface interposed therebetween, It is characterized in that the inner surface of either one is formed in an inclined shape such that the groove width becomes smaller from the inner peripheral portion to the outer peripheral portion. More preferably, the spiral groove has a pair of inner surfaces facing each other in the axial direction with the groove bottom surface interposed therebetween. It is characterized in that both of the inner surfaces are formed in an inclined shape such that the groove width becomes smaller from the inner peripheral portion to the outer peripheral portion.

Explanation of Signs

[0043] 1…Conventional bumper rubber 2…Automobile 3…Engine hood 4…Body panel 5…Mounting hole 5a…Hole edge portion 10…Bumper rubber 11…Rubber body 12…Pressure receiving portion 13…Spiral groove 13a…Inner peripheral portion 13b…Outer peripheral portion 14…Groove bottom surface 15…Upper inner surface 16…Lower inner surface 17…Groove opening edge

Claims

1. A bumper rubber having a spiral groove formed on the outer periphery of a columnar rubber body and screwed into the edge of a mounting hole drilled in an opening / closing member or a mating member, wherein the spiral groove is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross-section and has an inner peripheral portion on the groove bottom surface side and an outer peripheral portion on the groove opening edge side that is continuous with the inner peripheral portion, and the groove width of the outer peripheral portion is formed smaller than the groove width of the inner peripheral portion. The bumper rubber is characterized by this.

2. The bumper rubber according to Claim 1, wherein the spiral groove has a pair of inner surfaces facing each other in the axial direction with the groove bottom surface interposed therebetween, and one of the inner surfaces is formed in an inclined shape such that the groove width decreases from the inner peripheral portion to the outer peripheral portion. The bumper rubber is characterized by this.

3. The bumper rubber according to Claim 1, wherein the spiral groove has a pair of inner surfaces facing each other in the axial direction with the groove bottom surface interposed therebetween, and both of the inner surfaces are formed in an inclined shape such that the groove width decreases from the inner peripheral portion to the outer peripheral portion. The bumper rubber is characterized by this.

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