Impact absorbing member for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9139146-B2
Application number	US-201214390892-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 20, 2012
Priority date	Apr 5, 2012
Publication date	Sep 22, 2015
Grant date	Sep 22, 2015

Abstract

A vehicular impact absorber including: a hollow tubular body having a plurality of flat plate-shaped side walls and having a polygonal section; and a vehicle body-side attachment plate that is fixed integrally with the tubular body via a bracket in a state where the vehicle body-side attachment plate is in contact with one end portion of the tubular body in an axial direction, the vehicular impact absorber being fixed at the vehicle body-side attachment plate to a vehicle body-side member, and the vehicular impact absorber absorbing impact energy as the tubular body is crushed in the axial direction when an impact load is applied to the tubular body through the other end portion of the tubular body in the axial direction, the vehicular impact absorber being configured such that the bracket has a fixed plate portion that has a prescribed length in the axial direction of the tubular body.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicular impact absorber comprising:
a hollow tubular body having a plurality of flat plate-shaped side walls and having a polygonal section; and a vehicle body-side attachment plate that is fixed integrally with the tubular body via a bracket in a state where the vehicle body-side attachment plate is in contact with one end portion of the tubular body in an axial direction, the vehicular impact absorber being fixed at the vehicle body-side attachment plate to a vehicle body-side member, and the vehicular impact absorber absorbing impact energy as the tubular body is crushed in the axial direction when an impact load is applied to the tubular body through the other end portion of the tubular body in the axial direction, the vehicular impact absorber being configured such that
the bracket has
a fixed plate portion that has a prescribed length in the axial direction of the tubular body, that is disposed so as to be in close contact with and fixed integrally with outer faces of the plurality of side walls located adjacent to each other across a ridge portion of the tubular body, and that has a corner portion bent so as to conform to the ridge portion of the tubular body, and
a connecting plate portion that is bent from an end portion of the fixed plate portion, the end portion being located on the one end portion side of the tubular body in the axial direction, outward in a direction away from the tubular body, and the connecting plate portion being fixed integrally with the vehicle body-side attachment plate, and
a cut that is open toward the other end portion side of the tubular body in the axial direction is formed at the corner portion.

2. The vehicular impact absorber according to claim 1 , wherein
the fixed plate portion has a first fixed plate portion fixed to a first side wall of the tubular body and a pair of a second fixed plate portion and a third fixed plate portion fixed respectively to a pair of a second side wall and a third side wall located adjacent to opposite sides of the first side wall across the ridge portions, and the cuts are formed respectively at a pair of the corner portions respectively located between the first fixed plate portion and the pair of the second and third fixed plate portions, and
the connecting plate portion has a first connecting plate portion bent outward from the first fixed plate portion and a pair of a second connecting plate portion and a third connecting plate portion respectively bent outward from the pair of the second fixed plate portion and the third fixed plate portion, and the first connecting plate portion and the pair of the second and third connecting plate portions are fixed integrally with each other via connection portions formed so as to be continuous from the corner portions.

3. The vehicular impact absorber according to claim 2 , wherein
the tubular body has a rectangular section with right angles, the tubular body having an upper side wall that is disposed substantially horizontally at a position on an upper side in a vehicle-height direction when the tubular body is mounted in a vehicle, and a lower side wall that is disposed substantially horizontally at a position on a lower side in the vehicle-height direction when the tubular body is mounted in the vehicle, and the tubular body having a pair of lateral side walls extending in an up-down direction and located respectively on right and left sides of the upper side wall and the lower side wall,
the bracket includes a first bracket of which the fixed plate portion is fixed over the upper side wall of the tubular body and upper portions of the pair of the lateral side walls of the tubular body and a second bracket of which the fixed plate portion is fixed over the lower side wall of the tubular body and lower portions of the pair of the lateral side walls of the tubular body,
the tubular body is fixed to the vehicle body-side attachment plate with use of the first bracket and the second bracket, and
each of the upper side wall and the lower side wall is the first side wall, and the pair of the lateral side walls is the pair of the second side wall and the third side wall.

Assignees

• Nakanishi Makoto
• Toyota Tekko Kk

Inventors

• Nakanishi Makoto

Classifications

• B60R19/34 Primary

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

• F16F7/12

  using plastic deformation of members {(F16F9/30 takes precedence; yieldable means for mounting bumpers on vehicles B60R19/26; yieldable or collapsible steering columns B62D1/192)} · CPC title