Sensor support structure for vehicle

Abstract

To suppress the occurrence of damage to a bracket and a support member.SOLUTION: Sensor support structure of a vehicle 100 comprises: an under panel 10; a bracket 20; and a first cushioning material 60. The bracket 20 is fixed to the under panel 10 with one bolt 30 that penetrates the bracket 20. The bracket 20 supports a sensor 80. A straight line orthogonal to an axial line 30A of the bolt 30 is denoted as an orthogonal straight line Z. A surface 23A of a regulation plate 23 of the bracket 20 intersects the orthogonal straight line Z and is opposed to a surface 12A of a left plate 12 of the under panel 10. The first cushioning material 60 is mounted to the surface 23A of the regulation plate 23 of the bracket 20. The elastic coefficient of material of the first cushioning material 60 is smaller than the elastic coefficient of material of the bracket body 21 and is smaller than the elastic coefficient of material of the under panel 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sensor support structure for a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] The sensor support structure for a vehicle in Patent Document 1 includes an engine, an intake pipe, a bracket, and a bolt. A first end of the bracket is fixed to the engine by a bolt that passes through the bracket. A second end of the bracket is fixed to the intake pipe by brazing. The bracket supports a sensor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-124654 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a sensor support structure for a vehicle such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, due to design constraints, difficulty in securing working space, etc., it may be possible to secure only one fixing point for the bracket to a support member such as an engine. In this case, if the bracket is fixed with a bolt, the bracket may rotate around the axis of the bolt due to vibrations generated in the vehicle, etc. In that case, the rotated bracket may come into contact with a part of the support member other than the fixing point with the bracket, which may damage the bracket and the support member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A sensor support structure for a vehicle to solve the above problem includes a bracket that supports a sensor, a support member to which the bracket is fixed, and a single bolt that penetrates the bracket and fixes the bracket to the support member, wherein when a line perpendicular to the axis of the bolt is defined as an orthogonal line, the bracket has a first surface that intersects the orthogonal line and faces the support member, the support member has a second surface that faces the first surface, and further includes a cushioning material attached to at least one of the first surface and the second surface, and the elastic modulus of the material of the cushioning material is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket and smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the support member.

[0006] According to the above-mentioned configuration, even if the bracket rotates around the axis of the bolt, the bracket comes into contact with the support member with the buffer material sandwiched between them, thereby restricting the bracket from rotating any further. Furthermore, because the buffer material with a small elastic modulus is present between the bracket and the support member, the bracket and the support member do not collide directly, and damage to the bracket and the support member can be suppressed.

[0007] In the aforementioned configuration, the cushioning material may be in contact with both the first surface and the second surface. According to the above configuration, the bracket can be prevented from rotating, compared to a configuration in which a gap exists between the cushioning material and the support member. Also, since the cushioning material and the support member do not collide with each other when a gap exists, damage to the bracket and the support member caused by the collision can be prevented.

[0008] In the above configuration, when the cushioning material is a first cushioning material, the first cushioning material is attached to the first surface and further includes a second cushioning material attached to a surface of the bracket facing in the opposite direction to the first surface, and the elastic modulus of the material of the second cushioning material may be smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket and smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the support member.

[0009] According to the above configuration, even if the other component comes into contact with the second cushioning material when attaching the other component around the bracket, for example, during vehicle manufacturing, the other component is less likely to be damaged compared to when the other component comes into contact with the bracket.

[0010] In the above configuration, the support member and the bracket may both be made of a steel material having a plated surface. In the above-mentioned configuration, if the plating of the bracket or the plating of the support member peels off, there is a possibility that corrosion of the steel material will progress from the point where the plating has peeled off. In such a configuration in which peeling of the plating leads to corrosion, it is particularly suitable to adopt the above-mentioned configuration related to the buffer material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the peripheral configuration of the bracket. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the peripheral configuration of the bracket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] <Vehicle sensor support structure> An embodiment of a sensor support structure applied to a vehicle 100 will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. Note that the following description will be based on the top and bottom, front and rear, and left and right of the vehicle 100.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 includes an underpanel 10. The underpanel 10 is a plate material that covers the lower part of the vehicle 100. The underpanel 10 includes a raised portion 10A that is raised so as to be convex toward the bottom of the vehicle 100 compared to other portions. Furthermore, the raised portion 10A includes a lower plate 11, a left plate 12, and a right plate 13. The lower plate 11 is a substantially rectangular plate extending from the front to the rear of the vehicle 100. One of the two main surfaces of the lower plate 11 faces downward. The main surface is the surface having the largest area. The lower plate 11 includes a through hole 11H. The through hole 11H penetrates the lower plate 11 from top to bottom.

[0014] 2, the left plate 12 protrudes upward from the left edge of the lower plate 11. The left plate 12 protrudes diagonally so that the upper part of the left plate 12 is positioned to the left. Therefore, of the two main surfaces of the left plate 12, the surface 12A positioned on the left side faces diagonally downward to the left.

[0015] 2, the right plate 13 protrudes upward from the right edge of the lower plate 11. The right plate 13 protrudes obliquely so that the upper part of the right plate 13 is positioned to the right. Therefore, of the two main surfaces of the right plate 13, the surface 13A located on the right side faces diagonally downward to the right.

[0016] In this embodiment, an example of the material of the under-panel 10 is steel. Specifically, the material of the under-panel 10 is zinc-plated steel. That is, the under-panel 10 is a so-called rust-proof steel plate. The under-panel 10 is an example of a support member.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, the vehicle 100 includes a bracket 20, a bolt 30, a nut 40, and a sensor 80. As shown in Fig. 1, the bracket 20 includes a bracket body 21 and a wire 26. The bracket body 21 has a plate-like shape overall. In this embodiment, an example of the material of the bracket body 21 is a steel material. Specifically, the material of the bracket body 21 is a zinc-plated steel material. In other words, the bracket body 21 is a so-called rust-resistant steel plate.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the bracket body 21 includes a fixing plate 22 and a restricting plate 23 bent relative to the fixing plate 22. That is, the bracket body 21 has a shape in which a rectangular plate material is bent in the middle as a whole. The fixing plate 22 is fixed to the underpanel 10. Specifically, the fixing plate 22 includes a through hole 22H. The through hole 22H penetrates the fixing plate 22 from top to bottom. The bracket 20 is fixed to the underpanel 10 by a bolt 30 inserted through the through hole 22H of the fixing plate 22 and the through hole 11H of the lower plate 11, and a nut 40 attached to the bolt 30. That is, the bolt 30 penetrates the bracket 20 to fix the bracket 20 to the underpanel 10. Note that the vehicle 100 includes only one bolt 30 for fixing the bracket 20. An axis 30A of the bolt 30 extends in the vertical direction of the vehicle 100. The fixed plate 22 is a rectangular plate extending in the left-right direction. The left end of the fixed plate 22 is located to the left of the left end of the lower plate 11 of the underpanel 10. The right end of the fixed plate 22 is located to the right of the right end of the lower plate 11 of the underpanel 10.

[0019] The restricting plate 23 protrudes upward from the left edge of the fixed plate 22. The restricting plate 23 protrudes obliquely so that the upward position is positioned more to the left. The restricting plate 23 is approximately parallel to the left plate 12. Therefore, of the two main surfaces of the restricting plate 23, the surface 23A located on the right side faces the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the underpanel 10.

[0020] Here, among the straight lines perpendicular to the axis 30A of the bolt 30, a virtual straight line extending to the left and right of the vehicle 100 is defined as an orthogonal straight line Z. At this time, the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20 intersects with the orthogonal straight line Z. In other words, the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20 is the first surface. Moreover, the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the under-panel 10 is the second surface.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 3, the wire 26 extends from the right end of the fixing plate 22 toward the rear of the vehicle 100. The wire 26 supports the sensor 80 located rearward of the bracket body 21. The sensor 80 includes a sensor body 81 and a cable 82. The sensor body 81 has an overall cylindrical shape. The cable 82 extends leftward from the left end of the sensor body 81. The cable 82 is, for example, a multi-core cable including a power line for supplying power to the sensor body 81 and a signal line for exchanging signals with the sensor body 81. The cable 82 is supported by the wire 26. One example of the sensor 80 is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of exhaust gas flowing through an exhaust passage.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 100 includes a first buffer material 60 and a second buffer material 70. The first buffer material 60 is attached to the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20. The first buffer material 60 has a substantially rectangular plate shape. The shape of the main surface of the first buffer material 60 is substantially the same rectangular shape as the shape of the surface 23A. The first buffer material 60 covers the entire surface 23A. The thickness of the first buffer material 60 is substantially the same as the distance between the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the underpanel 10. Therefore, the first buffer material 60 is in contact with both the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the underpanel 10. An example of the material of the first buffer material 60 is a rubber material such as ethylene propylene rubber. Therefore, the elastic modulus of the material of the first cushioning material 60 is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket body 21 and is also smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the under-panel 10.

[0023] The second buffer material 70 is attached to the back surface 23B located on the left side of the two main surfaces of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20. That is, the second buffer material 70 is attached to the outer surface of the regulating plate 23 facing in the opposite direction to the front surface 23A. The shape of the second buffer material 70 is substantially the same as the shape of the first buffer material 60, and is a substantially rectangular plate. Therefore, the second buffer material 70 covers the entire surface of the back surface 23B. An example of the material of the second buffer material 70 is a rubber material such as ethylene propylene rubber. Therefore, the elastic modulus of the material of the second buffer material 70 is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket main body 21 and is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the underpanel 10.

[0024] <Action of this embodiment> In the vehicle 100, the bolt 30 may become loose. When the bolt 30 becomes loose, the bracket 20 tends to rotate about the axis 30A of the bolt 30 due to vibrations and the like generated in the vehicle 100.

[0025] <Effects of this embodiment> (1) In this embodiment, a first cushioning material 60 having a small elastic modulus is interposed between the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the underpanel 10. As a result, even if the bracket 20 rotates about the axis 30A of the bolt 30, the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the underpanel 10 will not directly collide with each other. Furthermore, because the material of the first cushioning material 60 has a small elastic modulus, even if the first cushioning material 60 comes into contact with the left plate 12, it is possible to prevent the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the underpanel 10 from being scratched.

[0026] (2) The first cushioning material 60 contacts both the surface 23A of the restricting plate 23 of the bracket 20 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the under-panel 10. This makes it possible to suppress rotation of the bracket 20 compared to a configuration in which, for example, a gap is generated between the first cushioning material 60 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the under-panel 10. Furthermore, for example, in a state in which a gap is generated between the first cushioning material 60 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 of the under-panel 10, the two do not collide with each other, and therefore damage to the bracket 20 and the under-panel 10 due to the collision can be suppressed.

[0027] (3) If the second cushioning material 70 were not present, for example, when attaching other components to the periphery of the bracket 20 during manufacturing of the vehicle 100, the other components may come into contact with the rear surface 23B of the restricting plate 23 of the bracket 20. Such contact may cause damage to the other components.

[0028] In this embodiment, the second cushioning material 70 is attached to the back surface 23B of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20. The elastic modulus of the material of the second cushioning material 70 is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket main body 21 and is also smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the under-panel 10. As a result, even if another member comes into contact with the back surface 23B of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20, damage to the other member can be suppressed compared to the case where the other member comes into contact with the bracket 20.

[0029] (4) In this embodiment, the material of the underpanel 10 and the bracket body 21 is zinc-plated steel. If the zinc plating of the underpanel 10 or the zinc plating of the bracket body 21 were to peel off, corrosion of the steel material may progress from the location where the zinc plating peeled off. Therefore, in a configuration in which peeling of the plating leads to corrosion as in this embodiment, it is particularly suitable to employ a configuration related to the first buffer material 60 and the second buffer material 70.

[0030] <Example of change> This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined with each other to the extent that there is no technical contradiction.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the shape of the first cushioning material 60 may be changed. For example, the thickness of the first buffer material 60 may be smaller than the distance between the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 in the bracket 20 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 in the underpanel 10. In this configuration, a gap is created between the first buffer material 60 and the surface 12A of the left plate 12 in the underpanel 10, so that the bracket 20 may rotate around the axis 30A of the bolt 30. However, even if the bracket 20 rotates around the axis 30A of the bolt 30, the bracket 20 contacts the surface 12A of the left plate 12 in the underpanel 10 with the first buffer material 60 sandwiched therebetween. This restricts the bracket 20 from rotating any further. And, since the first buffer material 60, which has a small elastic modulus, is interposed between the bracket 20 and the underpanel 10, the bracket 20 and the underpanel 10 do not collide directly with each other.

[0032] For example, the first cushioning material 60 may be attached to only a portion of the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20. In the above embodiment, the first cushioning material 60 may be attached to the under-panel 10. For example, the first cushioning material 60 may be attached to the surface 12A of the left panel 12 of the under-panel 10 instead of or in addition to the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20. Specifically, the first cushioning material 60 may be attached to a portion of the surface 12A of the left panel 12 of the under-panel 10 that faces the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the shape of the second cushioning material 70 may be changed. For example, the shape of the second cushioning material 70 does not have to be the same as the shape of the first cushioning material 60. As a specific example, the thickness of the second cushioning material 70 may be greater or smaller than the thickness of the first cushioning material 60. Also, for example, the second cushioning material 70 may be attached to only a portion of the back surface 23B of the restricting plate 23 of the bracket 20.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the second cushioning material 70 may be omitted. For example, if there is a low possibility that another member will come into contact with the rear surface 23B of the regulating plate 23 of the bracket 20, the second cushioning material 70 may be omitted.

[0035] In the above embodiment, the materials of the first buffer material 60 and the second buffer material 70 may be changed. For example, the material of the first buffer material 60 may be urethane, polystyrene, or the like, or a material having countless air bubbles therein, a so-called foam material. The material of the second buffer material 70 may be changed in the same manner as the first buffer material 60. The material of the first buffer material 60 does not have to be the same as the material of the second buffer material 70.

[0036] In the above embodiment, the materials of the bracket 20 and the under-panel 10 may be changed. For example, the material of the bracket body 21 is not limited to zinc plating, and other platings may be used. Furthermore, for example, the material of the bracket body 21 may be an aluminum alloy or the like. Similarly, the material of the under-panel 10 may be changed. Note that the material of the under-panel 10 does not have to be the same as the material of the bracket 20.

[0037] In other words, as long as the elastic modulus of the material of the first cushioning material 60 is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket body 21 and is also smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the under-panel 10, the material of each member may be changed.

[0038] In the above embodiment, the shape of the bracket 20 may be changed. For example, the bracket 20 may not include the wire 26. As a specific example, the fixing plate 22 of the bracket body 21 may support the sensor 80.

[0039] For example, the restricting plate 23 may be a part of the fixing plate 22 that protrudes upward from the right side beyond the right edge of the lower plate 11. The leftmost of the two main surfaces of the restricting plate 23 may face the surface 13A of the right plate 13 of the under-panel 10. In this case, the first cushioning material 60 may be attached to at least one of the leftmost of the two main surfaces of the restricting plate 23 and the surface 13A of the right plate 13 of the under-panel 10.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the shape of the underpanel 10 does not matter. As long as the underpanel 10 has a portion to which the fixing plate 22 of the bracket 20 is fixed and a surface facing the surface 23A of the regulating plate 23, the techniques related to each cushioning material can be applied.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the attachment target of the bracket 20, i.e., the support member, is not limited to the underpanel 10. For example, a plate material located inside the vehicle 100, a frame constituting the skeleton of the vehicle 100, or the like may be used as the support member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] Z: Perpendicular line 10…Underpanel 11…Lower plate 11H...Through hole 12…Left board 12A…Surface 13...Right plate 13A...Surface 20…Bracket 21…Bracket body 22…Fixing plate 22H...Through hole 23...Regulation board 23A…Surface 23B…Back side 26…Wire 30…Volts 30A…Axis line 40…Nut 60...First buffer material 70…Second buffer material 80…Sensor 81…Sensor body 82…Cable 100…Vehicle

Claims

1. A bracket for supporting the sensor; a support member to which the bracket is fixed; A bolt that passes through the bracket and fixes the bracket to the support member, When a straight line perpendicular to the axis of the bolt is defined as an orthogonal straight line, The bracket has a first surface that intersects the orthogonal straight line and faces the support member, The support member has a second surface facing the first surface, Further comprising a cushioning material attached to at least one of the first surface and the second surface, The elastic modulus of the material of the buffer material is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket and is also smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the support member. Sensor support structure for a vehicle.

2. The cushioning material is in contact with both the first surface and the second surface. The sensor support structure for a vehicle according to claim 1 .

3. When the cushioning material is the first cushioning material, The first cushioning material is attached to the first surface, A second cushioning material is attached to a surface of the bracket facing in a direction opposite to the first surface, The elastic modulus of the material of the second buffer material is smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the bracket and is also smaller than the elastic modulus of the material of the support member. The sensor support structure for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The material of the support member and the bracket is a steel material with a plated surface. The sensor support structure for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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