Load absorbing member and vehicle load absorbing structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11473640-B2
Application number	US-202017135822-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 28, 2020
Priority date	Feb 28, 2020
Publication date	Oct 18, 2022
Grant date	Oct 18, 2022

Abstract

In a crash box, a first extending portion extends from a front end of a first body upper portion in a vehicle front-rear direction of a first body portion, and a second extending portion extends from a front end of a second body lower portion in a vehicle front-rear direction of a second body portion. When an impact load is transmitted to the front ends of the first body portion and the second body portion in the vehicle front-rear direction, a rotation moment toward the lower side of the vehicle acts on the first extending portion and a rotation moment toward the upper side of the vehicle acts on the second extending portion. This can suppress peeling between first and second left side bonded portions and between first and second right side bonded portions of the first body portion and the second body portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A load absorbing member comprising:
a pair of body portions made of a fiber reinforced resin material and integrated with each other to define a closed cross-sectional shape that extends in a predetermined penetrating direction, the body portions being configured to deform to crush in the penetrating direction by a load acting in the penetrating direction to absorb at least a part of the load;

bonded portions that are provided in each of the body portions, the bonded portions of a first body portion of the body portions and the bonded portions of a second body portion of the body portions being bonded to each other facing each other such that the first body portion and the second body portion are integrated with each other; and
an extending portion provided on an opposite side of an input position of the load in the body portions from the bonded portions of the first body portion and the bonded portions of the second body portion, the extending portion extending from at least one of the body portions toward a direction opposite to a direction of the load with respect to the input position of the load.

2. The load absorbing member according to claim 1 , wherein the extending portion is provided on both of the body portions.

3. The load absorbing member according to claim 1 , further comprising a reinforcing portion that extends from at least one of the bonded portions of the body portions toward the bonded portions of the second body portion or toward the opposite side of the bonded portions of the second body portion, the reinforcing portion reinforcing a rigidity against deformation of the bonded portions of the first body portion in a direction in which the bonded portions of the first body portion are peeled off from the bonded portions of the second body portion.

4. A vehicle load absorbing structure comprising:
a crash box having a pair of body portions made of a fiber reinforced resin material, each of the body portions including bonded portions that are bonded to each other facing each other in a vehicle up-down direction to define a closed cross-sectional shape that extends in a vehicle front-rear direction, the crash box being configured to be compressed and deformed to crush in the vehicle front-rear direction by a load from an outside in the vehicle front-rear direction to absorb at least a part of the load, the crash box further including an extending portion provided in the vehicle up-down direction from an input position of the load and extending from at least one of the body portions outward in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the input position of the load;
a supporting member provided inward of the crash box in the vehicle front-rear direction and configured to support the crash box that receives the load from inside in the vehicle front-rear direction; and
a bumper reinforcement provided outward of the crash box in the vehicle front-rear direction and configured to transmit the load to the crash box.

5. The vehicle load absorbing structure according to claim 4 , wherein the extending portion extends from, of the body portions, the body portion on an upper side in the vehicle up-down direction so as to extend above the bumper reinforcement in the vehicle up-down direction, and extends from the body portion on a lower side in the vehicle up-down direction so as to extend below the bumper reinforcement in the vehicle up-down direction.

6. The vehicle load absorbing structure according to claim 4 , wherein the crash box includes a reinforcing portion that extends from at least one of the bonded portions of the body portions toward the bonded portions of a second body portion of the body portions or toward the opposite side of the bonded portions of the second body portion, the reinforcing portion reinforcing a rigidity against deformation of first bonded portions in a direction in which the first bonded portions are peeled off from second bonded portions.

7. The vehicle load absorbing structure according to claim 4 , wherein:
each of the body portions includes
a pair of leg plate portions each extending in the vehicle front-rear direction and constituting a portion of the body portion in a vehicle width direction, and
facing portions extending from front ends of the leg plate portions in the vehicle front-rear direction outward in the vehicle width direction and disposed rearward of a rear surface of the bumper reinforcement in the vehicle front-rear direction, angles between portions of the facing portions and the leg plate portions being 90 degrees or less as viewed in the vehicle up-down direction; and

the vehicle load absorbing structure includes a load transmitting member that is in contact with the rear surface of the bumper reinforcement in the vehicle front-rear direction in a state in which a front surface of the load transmitting member in the vehicle front-rear direction faces the rear surface of the bumper reinforcement in the vehicle front-rear direction and that is in contact with a front surface of the facing portion in the vehicle front-rear direction in a state in which a rear surface of the load transmitting member in the vehicle front-rear direction faces the front surface of the facing portion in the vehicle front-rear direction, the load transmitting member configured to transmit the load from a front of the vehicle that is transmitted via the bumper reinforcement to the facing portions.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Matsuo Yasuhide
• Kagami Ayaka
• Matsui Hatsumi
• Miura Masaya

Classifications

• F16F2224/0241

  Fibre-reinforced plastics [FRP] · CPC title

• B60R19/34 Primary

  destroyed upon impact, e.g. one-shot type · CPC title

• B62D21/15

  having impact absorbing means, e.g. a frame designed to permanently or temporarily change shape or dimension upon impact with another body (bumpers B60R19/02; shock absorbers in general F16F) · CPC title

• F16F7/124

  characterised by their special construction from fibre-reinforced plastics · CPC title

• B60R2019/1853

  of reinforced plastic material · CPC title