Vehicular hood

Abstract

To provide a vehicular hood capable of suppressing a peeling of a hemming processed portion when the front section of a vehicle collides.SOLUTION: In the hemming processed portion of a hood outer panel 3 and that of a hood inner panel 4, a notch portion 34 is provided at a position in the extended line of a bent bead 41 in a hemming processed lower side portion 32 located at the back side of the hood inner panel 4. Hence, when the front section of a vehicle collides and a vehicular hood 1 is deformed in a shape like a mountain, an occurrence of an excess portion in the hemming processed lower side portion 32 is suppressed, and a cancellation of tucking of a rear end edge of the hood inner panel 4 between a hemming processed upper side portion 31 and the hemming processed lower side portion 32 is suppressed. Accordingly, an increase in displacement of the rear end edge of the hood outer panel 3 in the backward direction is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle hood. [Background technology]

[0002] As disclosed in Patent Document 1, a conventional vehicle hood includes a hood outer panel and a hood inner panel, and the outer edge of the hood outer panel and the outer edge of the hood inner panel are integrally joined by hemming. That is, the outer edge of the hood outer panel is bent by press working, and the outer edge of the hood inner panel is sandwiched between the bent portion from both sides. The reason for using hemming for vehicle hoods is that if the hood outer panel and the hood inner panel were joined by spot welding or the like, the joint marks would be visible on the surface of the hood outer panel, compromising marketability.

[0003] In addition, in the event of a frontal collision, to prevent the vehicle hood from moving rearward due to the frontal collision load and the rear edge of the vehicle hood from reaching the passenger compartment, a generally central portion of the vehicle hood in the fore-and-aft direction is bent upward to deform the vehicle hood into a mountain shape when the frontal collision load is applied. As a means for deforming the vehicle hood into a mountain shape in response to the frontal collision load, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a known method of providing a folding bead in the hood inner panel by bending upward a generally central portion of the hood in the fore-and-aft direction. In other words, the folding bead is provided in the hood inner panel, which becomes the starting point for folding the vehicle hood in the event of a frontal collision. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-86153 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-208511 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In a conventional vehicle hood, when the hood is deformed into a mountain shape during a vehicle frontal collision, the hood outer panel and the hood inner panel may separate. Fig. 3(a) is a cross-sectional view of a hemmed portion when the vehicle hood a is deformed into a mountain shape during a vehicle frontal collision, with the left side of the figure being the front of the vehicle. When the vehicle hood a is deformed into a mountain shape as shown in Fig. 3(a), an excess portion b3 is generated in a portion b1 (hereinafter referred to as the lower hemmed portion) of the outer edge of the hood outer panel b that is bent along the outer edge of the hood inner panel c and located below the outer edge of the hood outer panel b. This causes the lower hemmed portion b1 to expand downward, potentially releasing the clamping of the outer edge of the hood inner panel c between a portion b2 (hereinafter referred to as the upper hemmed portion) of the hood inner panel c and the lower hemmed portion b1 (resulting in peeling of the hemmed portion). In this case, the release of the pinch may spread from the mountain-shaped deformation toward the rear of the vehicle.

[0006] If the connection between the outer edge of the hood outer panel b and the outer edge of the hood inner panel c were to be released in this manner, the rear end edge of the hood outer panel b would move rearward a large distance, raising concerns that this rear end edge would come into contact with the front windshield glass (not shown).

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle hood that can suppress peeling of a hemmed portion in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The solution of the present invention to achieve the above object is based on a vehicle hood having a hemmed portion formed by folding the outer edge of a hood outer panel and sandwiching the outer edge of a hood inner panel from the front and back. The vehicle hood is characterized in that the hood inner panel is provided with a folding bead that extends along the vehicle width direction and serves as a folding start point for the vehicle hood in the event of a frontal collision, and a notch is provided in a lower hemmed portion located on the back side of the hood inner panel at a position on an extension of the folding bead.

[0009] This feature causes the vehicle hood to deform in a mountain shape starting from the folded bead of the hood inner panel during a frontal collision. In this case, the notch provided on the lower hemming portion of the hood outer panel, located on the back side of the hood inner panel, on an extension of the folded bead, can absorb the difference in line length between the lower hemming portion and the outer edge of the hood inner panel (reducing the occurrence of excess material in the lower hemming portion), thereby preventing the lower hemming portion from expanding downward. This reduces peeling of the hemming portion and prevents the rearward movement of the rear edge of the hood outer panel from becoming excessive. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] In this invention, a notch is provided in the hemmed portion of the hood outer panel and the hood inner panel at a position on the extension line of the folded bead in the lower hemmed portion located on the back side of the hood inner panel, which prevents the hemmed portion from peeling off when the vehicle hood deforms into a mountain shape during a frontal collision, and prevents the rear edge of the hood outer panel from moving too far rearward. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the vehicle hood according to the embodiment, viewed from below. FIG. [Figure 2] 2(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view taken at a position corresponding to line BB in FIG. 2(a). [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of a hemmed portion when a vehicle hood is deformed into a mountain shape during a frontal collision, where FIG. 3A shows the deformed state in the prior art, and FIG. 3B shows the deformed state in the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] -Engine hood configuration- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle hood (so-called engine hood) 1 according to this embodiment, as seen from below, and the area enclosed by the dashed dotted line is an enlarged view of a portion of the vehicle hood 1 (an enlarged view of a characteristic portion of the vehicle hood 1 according to this embodiment). In Fig. 1, the arrow FR indicates the front direction of the vehicle, the arrow UP indicates the upward direction, and the arrow LH indicates the left side in the vehicle width direction. Note that Fig. 1 shows only the left side of the vehicle hood 1 in the vehicle width direction, but the right side in the vehicle width direction has a similar configuration.

[0014] A hinge (not shown) that connects the vehicle hood 1 to the vehicle body is disposed at the rear end in the vehicle longitudinal direction of the vehicle, which allows the vehicle hood 1 to rotate about an axis of the hinge in the vehicle width direction, i.e., allows the engine compartment to be opened and closed. When the engine compartment is closed by the vehicle hood 1, a striker 2 disposed at the front portion of the underside of the vehicle hood 1 is engaged with a hook (not shown) provided on the outer edge of the engine compartment.

[0015] The vehicle hood 1 includes a hood outer panel 3 and a hood inner panel 4. The hood outer panel 3 constitutes the outer plate of the vehicle hood 1, and the hood inner panel 4 constitutes the inner plate of the vehicle hood 1. Both the hood outer panel 3 and the hood inner panel 4 are formed by pressing a metal plate (e.g., a steel plate, an aluminum alloy plate, etc.).

[0016] The outer edge of the hood outer panel 3 and the outer edge of the hood inner panel 4 are joined together by hemming. That is, the outer edge of the hood outer panel 3 is bent by pressing, and the outer edge of the hood inner panel 4 is sandwiched between the bent portions from the front and back.

[0017] Fig. 2(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 2(a). As shown in these figures, the specific configuration of the hemming portion is such that, at the outer edge of the hood outer panel 3, a portion that abuts against the front surface (top surface) of the hood inner panel 4 is an upper hemming portion 31, a portion that abuts against the back surface (bottom surface) of the hood inner panel 4 is a lower hemming portion 32, and a hemming wrap-around portion 33 is formed between the upper hemming portion 31 and the lower hemming portion 32, which is bent to fit along the outer edge 45 of the hood inner panel 4.

[0018] The hood inner panel 4 is provided with a folding bead 41 that extends along the vehicle width direction and becomes a folding start point for the vehicle hood 1 in the event of a frontal collision. The folding bead 41 is configured by bending an area of ​​the hood inner panel 4 located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction upward.

[0019] The periphery of the area where the folded bead 41 is provided in the hood inner panel 4 includes a first inclined portion 42 (an inclined portion sloping upward toward the outside in the vehicle width direction) continuing outward in the vehicle width direction from the folded bead 41, a horizontal portion 43 continuing outward in the vehicle width direction from the first inclined portion 42, and a second inclined portion 44 (an inclined portion sloping upward toward the outside in the vehicle width direction) continuing outward in the vehicle width direction from the horizontal portion 43. An outer edge portion 45 continuing outward in the vehicle width direction from the second inclined portion 44 is sandwiched between the hemmed upper portion 31 and the hemmed lower portion 32 of the hood outer panel 3.

[0020] By providing the above-mentioned foldable bead 41, in the event of a vehicle frontal collision, the foldable bead 41 becomes the starting point of the fold, and the frontal collision load causes the approximately central portion of the hood inner panel 4 in the fore-and-aft direction to bend upward, and accordingly, the approximately central portion of the entire vehicle hood 1 in the fore-and-aft direction also bends upward and deforms into a mountain shape. This prevents the vehicle hood 1 from moving rearward and the rear edge of the vehicle hood 1 from reaching the passenger compartment.

[0021] A feature of this embodiment is that a notch 34 is provided in the hemming processing portion in the lower hemming portion 32 of the hood outer panel 3 (the lower hemming portion 32 located on the back side of the hood inner panel 4) on the extension line of the folded bead 41 (on the extension line of the straight line extending along the vehicle width direction: see the dotted line L in Figure 1).

[0022] The cutout 34 is formed by cutting out an arc-shaped portion of the hemmed lower portion 32. The cutout 34 is formed simultaneously with the press working of the hood outer panel 3. The length of the cutout 34 in the vehicle longitudinal direction and the length in the vehicle width direction can be set arbitrarily.

[0023] In this embodiment, the length dimension of the cutout portion 34 in the direction along the vehicle fore-and-aft direction is set by experiment or simulation as a dimension that can sufficiently absorb the difference in line length between the hemmed lower portion 32 and the outer edge of the hood inner panel 4 in the event of a vehicle frontal collision described below, and that ensures sufficient bonding strength between the outer edge of the hood outer panel 3 and the outer edge 45 of the hood inner panel 4 (the hemmed lower portion 32 in areas other than the area where the cutout portion 34 is provided ensures sufficient bonding strength at the hemmed portion).

[0024] In addition, the length dimension of the cutout portion 34 in the direction along the vehicle width is also set through experiments or simulations to a dimension that ensures sufficient bonding strength between the outer edge portion of the hood outer panel 3 and the outer edge portion 45 of the hood inner panel 4.

[0025] -Behavior during a vehicle frontal collision- Next, the operation of the vehicle hood 1 configured as described above in the event of a vehicle frontal collision will be described.

[0026] 3(b) is a cross-sectional view of the hemmed portion when the vehicle hood 1 is deformed into a mountain shape during a frontal collision. As shown in FIG. 3(b), during a frontal collision, the hood inner panel 4 is deformed into a mountain shape starting from the folding bead 41 provided on the hood inner panel 4, and the entire vehicle hood 1 is deformed into a mountain shape accordingly.

[0027] In this case, because the notch 34 is provided in the hemmed lower region 32 of the hood outer panel 3 at a position on an extension of the folded bead 41, the difference in line length between the hemmed lower region 32 and the outer edge of the hood inner panel 4 is absorbed, preventing the aforementioned excess portion (see reference symbol b3 in FIG. 3(a)) from being generated and preventing the hemmed lower region 32 from expanding downward. In the conventional technology shown in FIG. 3(a), the generation of excess portion b3 could cause the outer edge of the hood inner panel c to be released from being sandwiched between the hemmed upper region b2 and the hemmed lower region b1, which could result in an increase in the rearward movement of the rear edge of the hood outer panel b. However, in the present embodiment, the generation of excess portion can be prevented, thereby preventing peeling of the hemmed region and preventing an increase in the rearward movement of the rear edge of the hood outer panel 3. As a result, it is possible to prevent the rear end edge of the hood outer panel 3 from coming into contact with the front windshield glass (not shown). In this way, in this embodiment, by simply providing the cutout portion 34 in a part of the hood outer panel 3, it is possible to prevent the rear end edge of the hood outer panel 3 from moving too far rearward in the event of a vehicle frontal collision.

[0028] -Other embodiments- The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications and applications within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereto are possible.

[0029] For example, in the above embodiment, the edge of the notch 34 provided in the hemmed lower portion 32 is arc-shaped. However, the present invention is not limited to this and various shapes are possible. For example, an elliptical arc shape or a V-shape is also possible.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to a so-called engine hood disposed at the front of a vehicle as the vehicle hood 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be applied to a vehicle hood (such as a trunk lid) disposed at the rear of a vehicle.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the folded beads 41 are provided only in the region located on the outer side in the vehicle width direction of the hood inner panel 4. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the folded beads may be provided over the entire hood inner panel 4 in the vehicle width direction.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the cutout portion 34 in the hood outer panel 3 is formed only in the hemming lower portion 32. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cutout portion 34 may be formed in the region extending from the hemming lower portion 32 to the hemming roll-in portion 33, as long as the cutout portion 34 is not visible from the outside when the vehicle hood 1 is closed. [Industrial Applicability]

[0033] The present invention is applicable to a vehicle hood provided with a breakable bead that serves as a breakage starting point in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 Vehicle hood 3 Hood outer panel 31 Hemming upper part 32 Hemming processing lower part 34 Notch 4. Hood inner panel 41 Broken bead 45 Outer edge of hood inner panel L Extension line of broken bead

Claims

[Claim 1] In a vehicle hood having a hemmed portion formed by folding an outer edge portion of a hood outer panel and sandwiching an outer edge portion of a hood inner panel from the front and back, The hood inner panel is provided with a folding bead that extends along the vehicle width direction and serves as a folding start point for the vehicle hood in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle. A vehicle hood characterized in that a notch is provided in a lower portion of the hemming processing portion located on the back side of the hood inner panel, on a position on an extension line of the folded bead.

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