阅读说明：本技术 发动机罩升起装置 (Engine hood lifting device ) 是由 M·安德森 埃里克·赖德斯莫 于 2021-04-28 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供了一种发动机罩升起装置,包括：-底座(10),-推头(20),该推头被布置成抬高车辆发动机罩并且在静止位置和启用位置之间移动,-烟火致动器(30),该烟火致动器被布置成将推头(20)移位,-锁定元件(40),该锁定元件被布置成在推头(20)从静止位置朝向启用位置移位期间与车辆发动机罩(100)接合,其特征在于,发动机罩升起装置包括可变形的联接构件(50),该可变形的联接构件将底座(10)与推头(20)联接,并且其特征在于锁定元件(40)被布置成在推头(20)处于静止位置时始终与车辆发动机罩脱离。(The present invention provides a hood raising apparatus, including: -a base (10), -a pusher (20) arranged to raise a vehicle bonnet and to move between a rest position and an activated position, -a pyrotechnic actuator (30) arranged to displace the pusher (20), -a locking element (40) arranged to engage with the vehicle bonnet (100) during the displacement of the pusher (20) from the rest position towards the activated position, characterized in that the bonnet raising device comprises a deformable coupling member (50) coupling the base (10) with the pusher (20), and in that the locking element (40) is arranged to be disengaged from the vehicle bonnet at all times when the pusher (20) is in the rest position.)

1. A hood raising apparatus comprising:

a chassis (10) arranged to be attached to a vehicle frame,

-a push head (20) arranged to lift a vehicle hood (100) and move between a rest position and an active position,

-a pyrotechnic actuator (30) arranged to displace the pusher head (20) from the rest position towards the activated position after actuation,

-a locking element (40) arranged to engage with the vehicle hood (100) during a displacement of the push head (20) from the rest position towards the active position,

characterized in that it comprises a deformable coupling member (50) which couples the base (10) with the pusher head (20) and is arranged to deform during the displacement of the pusher head (20) from the rest position towards the active position, following the actuation of the pyrotechnic actuator (30),

and wherein the locking element (40) is arranged to always disengage from the vehicle bonnet (100) when the push head (20) is in the rest position.

2. Hood lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the locking element (40) is arranged to move between:

-a disengaged position, in which the vehicle hood (100) is kept free by the locking element (40),

-an engaged position, in which the vehicle hood (100) is engaged with the locking element (40),

and wherein the locking element (40) is turned from the disengaged position to the engaged position when the pusher head (20) is turned from the rest position to the activated position.

3. Hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the locking element (40) is embedded on the push head (20).

4. Hood lifting device according to claim 3, wherein the locking element (40) comprises an elastic portion, and wherein the elastic portion engages with the base (10) in such a way that it is placed under tension when the push head (20) is in the rest position.

5. Hood lifting device according to claim 4, wherein the elastic portion is arranged to disengage from the base (10) in such a way that it returns to a relaxed position, when the push head (20) rotates from the rest position to the activated position, thereby engaging the locking element (40) with the vehicle hood (100).

6. Hood lifting device according to one of claims 4 to 5, wherein the base (10) comprises at least one counter-shaped element (12) arranged to receive the elastic portion when the push head (20) is in the rest position.

7. The hood lifting device according to claim 6, wherein the base (10) includes:

-a seat position arranged to be attached to the frame of the vehicle,

-a wing (11) having a first end coupled with the seat position and a second end comprising the counter-shaped element (12).

8. Hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the locking element (40) forms a resilient clip shaped as a V, wherein one part of the V is inserted into a slit of the push head (20), and wherein the two free ends (42) of the V are resiliently separated from each other by the base (10) when the push head (20) is in the rest position.

9. Hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the locking element (40) is an elastic ring.

10. Hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the pyrotechnic actuator (30) comprises a piston (31) moving between an initial piston position and a final piston position, and wherein the stroke Cp of the piston (31) between the final piston position and the initial piston position is smaller than the stroke Ct of the pusher head (20) between the active position and the rest position,

and preferably:

Ct>1.5×Cp；

and more preferably:

Ct>1.9×Cp。

11. hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the deformable coupling member (50) has at least one fold (52) and two parts folded onto itself when the push head (20) is in the rest position, wherein the deformable coupling member (50) comprises a notch (53) arranged at the fold (52).

12. Hood lifting device according to claim 11, wherein the deformable coupling member (50) has a plurality of folds (52) when the push head (20) is in the rest position, and wherein the cross section STp of the deformable coupling member (50) at each fold (52) is smaller than the cross section STi of the deformable coupling member (50) between two folds (52),

and preferably:

STi>2×STp；

and more preferably:

STi>3×STp。

13. hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the base (10), the deformable coupling member (50) and the push head (20) are formed from the same piece of metal.

14. A motor vehicle comprising:

-a vehicle hood (100),

-at least one hood lifting device according to one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A motor vehicle according to claim 14, comprising means for locking the vehicle hood (100) in a closed position, said means being distinct from the hood lifting means.

Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to hood lifting devices mounted on motor vehicles. In particular, the hood lifting device according to the present invention is generally used to lift a hood in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, thereby limiting injury to the pedestrian.

Prior Art

Hood lifting devices are known from the prior art, as described in document EP1452408B1, in which a hinge is provided to lift the hood on the windscreen side in case of an emergency. However, in particular, this system has the following drawbacks: with a complex and therefore cumbersome structure, and this system cannot be used on vehicles in which the hood pivots towards the front, since the hinge of the hood is placed on the side of the front bumper, i.e. on the opposite side of the position where such a hood lifting device must be placed.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the above-described prior art documents, and in particular, to first propose a hood lifting device that makes it possible to lift a vehicle hood on the windshield side in an emergency even in the case where the hood is hinged to pivot toward the front of the vehicle.

Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a hood lifting device comprising:

a base arranged to be attached to a vehicle frame,

a pushing head arranged to lift the vehicle hood and move between a rest position and an active position,

a pyrotechnic actuator arranged to displace the pusher head from a rest position to an activated position after actuation,

a locking element arranged to engage with the vehicle hood during displacement of the pusher head from the rest position to the activated position,

characterized in that it comprises a deformable coupling member which couples the base to the pusher and which is arranged to deform, preferably plastically, during the displacement of the pusher from the rest position to the active position upon actuation of the pyrotechnic actuator, and in that the locking element is arranged to be always disengaged from the vehicle bonnet when the pusher is in the rest position.

The hood lifting device according to the above embodiment includes a locking element that leaves the hood in a free state when the pusher is in the rest position and engages with the hood when the pusher is in the activated position. In other words, the hood of the vehicle remains free as long as the hood lifting device is not activated, and the push head of the hood lifting device engages with the hood and holds the hood in the activated position once the hood lifting device is activated.

According to one embodiment, the locking element may be arranged to move between:

a disengaged position in which the vehicle hood can be kept free by means of the locking element,

an engaged position in which the vehicle hood is engageable with the locking element,

and the locking element is rotatable from the disengaged position to the engaged position when the pusher head is rotated from the rest position to the activated position. According to this embodiment, the displacement of the pusher head into the activated position triggers the transfer of the locking element from the disengaged position into the engaged position. In other words, the function of the pyrotechnic actuator causes the pusher to be displaced towards the active position and, at the same time, causes the locking element to be transferred into the engaged position to engage the bonnet. Preferably, the lifting means are arranged such that the locking element is turned to the engaged position as soon as the displacement of the pusher head starts, for example during the first 10 millimetres of travel of the pusher head.

According to one embodiment, the locking element may be embedded on the pusher head. Thus, the locking element follows the movement of the pusher.

According to one embodiment, the locking element may comprise a resilient portion and the resilient portion may be engaged with the base when the pusher is in the rest position such that the resilient portion may be placed under tension. The resilient part of the locking element is attached to a base, which is a static piece. Nevertheless, the locking element is embedded on the pusher and, therefore, once the pusher is displaced with respect to the base to turn to the active position, the elastic portion of the locking element is also displaced with respect to the base.

According to one embodiment, the resilient portion may be arranged to disengage from the base in such a way that the resilient portion may return to a relaxed position when the pusher is rotated from the rest position to the activated position, thereby enabling the locking element to engage with the vehicle hood. Once the pusher is displaced relative to the base to rotate to the activated position, the resilient portion of the locking element disengages from the base and automatically relaxes so that the locking element can engage the vehicle hood.

According to one embodiment, the base may comprise at least one counter-form arranged to receive the resilient portion when the pusher head is in the rest position.

According to one embodiment, the base may comprise:

a seat position arranged to be attached to a frame of the vehicle,

-a wing having a first end coupled with the seat position and a second end comprising a counter piece.

According to one embodiment, the locking element may form a resilient clip shaped as a V, wherein one part of the V is inserted into a slit of the pusher head and the two free ends of the V are resiliently separable from each other by the base when the pusher head is in the rest position. When the pusher is in the rest position, the two free ends of the V of the locking element are attached to and placed under tension by the base, which is a static piece. However, the locking element is embedded on the pusher, although once the pusher has been displaced with respect to the base into the active position, the two free ends of the V of the locking element are also displaced with respect to the base and can be released therefrom to return to the relaxed position, which brings the locking element into the configuration of engagement with the vehicle hood. For example, the shoulder pin of the vehicle hood can be completely free to shift between the two free ends of the V of the locking element placed under tension by the base and remain connected by the two free ends of the V released from the base and having returned to the relaxed position.

According to one embodiment, the locking element may be an elastic ring.

According to one embodiment, the pyrotechnic actuator may comprise a moving piston between an initial piston position and a final piston position, and the stroke Cp of the piston between the final piston position and the initial piston position may be smaller than the stroke Ct of the pusher head between the activated position and the rest position,

and preferably:

Ct＞1.5×Cp；

and more preferably:

Ct＞1.9×Cp。

in other words, the stroke of the pusher (and therefore of the vehicle hood) is much greater than that of the piston. Thus, the transfer to the active position is achieved by inertia after the initial movement caused by the pyrotechnic actuator.

According to one embodiment, the deformable coupling member may have at least one fold and two portions folded onto itself when the pusher head is in the rest position, and the deformable coupling member may comprise a notch arranged at the fold. Such notches allow for the formation of a weak zone and ensure that deformation of the deformable member occurs at the fold to "unfold" the deformable member as the pusher head is rotated from the rest position to the activated position.

According to one embodiment, the deformable coupling member may have a plurality of folds when the pusher head is in the rest position, and the cross-section STp of the deformable coupling member at each fold may be smaller than the cross-section STi of the deformable coupling member between two folds,

and preferably:

STi＞2×STp；

and more preferably:

STi＞3×STp。

this difference in cross-section makes it possible to form a weak zone and to ensure that deformation of the deformable member occurs at the fold to "unfold" the deformable member when the pusher head is turned from the rest position to the activated position.

According to one embodiment, the base, deformable coupling member, and pusher head may be formed from the same piece of metal (e.g., sheet metal).

A second aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle, which may comprise:

-a vehicle hood having a hood opening,

-at least one hood lifting device according to the first aspect.

According to one embodiment, the motor vehicle may comprise means for locking the vehicle hood in the closed position, which means are distinct from the hood lifting means. In other words, the locking/closing function of the vehicle hood in normal operation (for access to the compartment, motor or storage space under the hood) is not achieved by a means of raising the hood, but by another locking means. Thus, throughout the entire phase of normal operation of the vehicle, the hood lifting device, in particular the locking element, is not engaged with the vehicle hood: the user can freely open and close the vehicle hood. Nevertheless, in the event of an emergency (e.g. a collision with a pedestrian), the hood lifting device is activated and the locking element engages with the vehicle hood to ensure that the hood will follow the push head correctly during its displacement and will also stop once the push head is in the activated position.

In the sequence of raising the hood, it may be ensured first to unlock the locking device and then to activate the hood raising device after a short predetermined time.

According to one embodiment, the hood lifting device may be arranged on the windshield side, and the vehicle hood may be arranged to pivot toward the front of the vehicle. In particular, the vehicle hood may be arranged to pivot towards the front of the vehicle, i.e. the vehicle may comprise at least one hinge-type hinge coupling the vehicle hood with the frame of the vehicle and arranged on the front side (radiator grille side) of the hood, whereas the hood lifting device may be arranged on the rear side (windscreen side) of the vehicle hood.

Drawings

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from reading the detailed description of embodiments of the invention, which is provided by way of example and in no way limited thereto, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 provides a general view of a motor vehicle equipped with a vehicle hood;

FIG. 2 provides a perspective view of a hood lifting device according to the present invention with the pusher in a rest position;

FIG. 3 shows the hood lifting device of FIG. 2 with the anchoring portion of the vehicle hood of FIG. 1;

figure 4 shows a longitudinal section through the hood raising device of figure 3,

FIG. 5 shows a cross-section through the hood lifting device of FIG. 3 with the pusher in a rest position;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section through the hood lifting device of FIG. 5 with the push head rotated away from the rest position to an activated position;

fig. 7 shows a cross section through the hood lifting device of fig. 5 with the push head in the activated position.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a motor vehicle with a vehicle hood 100 covering a compartment in the front of the vehicle, for example the engine compartment. The vehicle hood 100 may be opened, and in this case, the vehicle hood 100 is provided to open toward the front to enter the normal open position a, as indicated by the outline indicated by the chain line. In the normally open position a, the vehicle hood provides free access for the user and can be closed and opened as desired. A locking device, such as a latch, may be provided to hold the vehicle hood 100 closed. The locking device is then placed adjacent the windshield.

In order to effectively protect a pedestrian or a rider in the event of a collision with the vehicle, it is advantageous to raise the vehicle hood 100 to place it in a safe position B indicated by a broken line. The rear side of the vehicle hood 100 is typically raised by a few tenths of a millimeter or hundredths of a millimeter. Once the safety position B is reached, the vehicle hood must remain in this position (in order not to close freely again or continue to open freely).

To this end, there is proposed a hood raising apparatus as shown in fig. 2, the apparatus including:

a base 10 arranged to be attached to a vehicle frame,

a pusher 20 arranged to raise the vehicle hood 100 and move between a rest position (figures 2, 3, 4 and 5) and an active position (figure 7),

a pyrotechnic actuator 30 mounted between the base 10 and the pusher head 20, arranged to displace the pusher head 20 from the rest position towards the activated position after actuation,

a locking element 40 arranged to engage with the vehicle hood 100 when the pusher head 20 is in the activated position,

a deformable coupling member 50 which couples the base 10 with the pusher head 20.

In fig. 2, the pusher head 20 is therefore in the rest position and the deformable coupling member 50 is in the folded configuration, as shown more clearly in fig. 4, and comprises a series of flat portions 51 separated by folds 52. Fig. 7 shows the pusher head in the activated position, and the deformable coupling member 50 thus deployed. When the pusher head 20 has been transferred from the rest position towards the activated position, irreversible plastic deformation occurs. As shown in fig. 7, the deformable coupling member 50 comprises a notch 53 at the fold 52, which makes it possible to ensure that the plastic deformation of the deformable coupling member is correctly positioned at the fold 52 without affecting the flat portion 51.

In fig. 4, it is noted that the base 10, the deformable coupling member 50 and the pusher head 20 are formed from the same cut and correctly folded sheet. Thus, the overall structure is simple and easy to implement (e.g., by stamping, cutting, stamping, and folding). A steel plate with a High Elastic Limit (HEL) of at least 200MPa or at least 300MPa and a thickness between 0.7mm and 2.5mm may be provided.

Returning to fig. 2, it is noted that the base 10 comprises a seat position (the lower surface of which is not visible), which in particular comprises a wing 11 having at its upper end two counter-parts 12, which both receive the free ends of the locking elements 40.

The pusher head 20 includes:

two slits 22 and 23, formed by cutting-punching and dimensioned to accommodate the locking element 40, in this case a folded ring forming a clip shaped as a V,

relative to the boss 24 of the pyrotechnic actuator 30,

passage holes 21, the size of which is smaller than the spacing of the clip supports forming the locking elements 40 at the passage holes 21, wherein the clip supports form elastic portions, the free ends of which engage in the counter-parts 12 of the base 10.

As shown in fig. 4, the pyrotechnic actuator 30 comprises a plate 33 receiving an electric pyrotechnic igniter 32 and a piston 31 supporting the boss 24 or at least opposite to it. During operation of the electric pyrotechnic igniter 32, the compressed gas causes an upward displacement of the piston 31, which moves the pusher head 20 upward. For example, an electric pyrotechnic igniter 32 may be provided that includes a mass of pyrotechnic material between 200mg and 2g, and pyrotechnic material including, but not limited to, boron, and/or titanium, and/or potassium nitrate, and/or potassium perchlorate may be used.

As mentioned above, locking element 40 is a clip shaped as a V that is embedded on pusher head 20 because it has been inserted into slots 22 and 23 of the pusher head. The free end 42 of the locking element 40, however, engages in the counter-part 12 of the wing 11 of the base 10. This engagement free end 42 in the counter piece 12 is realized under tension. In other words, in the configuration of figure 2, once the pusher is in the rest position, the legs or free ends 42 are kept separated from each other by the wings 11. In the relaxed position, the legs or free ends 42 will be closer to each other and will be visible through, for example, the passage aperture 12.

Note that once the pusher head is turned from the rest position (fig. 2) to the active position (fig. 7), the free ends 42 are released from the reaction member 12, but they can approach each other at any starting point of the displacement, for example at the first few millimeters of the stroke, for example at the first ten millimeters.

Fig. 3 shows the hood lifting device of fig. 2 having an anchor portion 110, which is a part of the vehicle hood 100. The anchoring portion 110 represents a shoulder pin 111 with respect to the passage hole 121 of the pusher head 20. The diameter of the shoulder pin 111 is smaller than the diameter of the passage hole 21, so that the shoulder pin can freely enter and exit the passage hole 21 without any interference or restraint. In other words, when the pusher 20 is in the rest position, the locking element 40 is always disengaged from the shoulder pin 111.

Specifically, in the cross section of fig. 4, the shoulder pin is inserted into the passage hole 21, and the vehicle hood 100 is in the closed position.

Fig. 5 shows a cross section through the hood lifting device of fig. 4, showing the free ends 42 of the locking elements 40 sufficiently separated from each other to allow the shoulder pins 111 to freely enter and exit the passage holes 21.

For the sake of clarity, the pyrotechnic actuator 30 is only shown by dashed lines (dash-dot lines) in fig. 5 and 6 and 7.

Fig. 6 and 7 show the hood raising device of fig. 4 at the start of operation and at the end of operation, respectively.

In fig. 6, the pyrotechnic actuator has just been actuated or fired and the piston 31 has covered the piston stroke Cp1 with respect to the plate 33. Consequently, the deformable coupling member 50 has begun to deploy, and in particular, the pusher head 20 has also been raised by the value of the piston stroke Cp1, which has disengaged the free end 42 from the base 10. Therefore, and as shown in fig. 6, the free ends 42 approach each other under the elastic force, and the head of the shoulder pin 111 can no longer leave the passage hole 21. Thus, the locking element 40 has been rotated from the disengaged position (fig. 2, 3 and 4) to the engaged position (fig. 6 and 7), in which the vehicle hood 100 is connected with the pusher 20 via the shoulder pin 111 and the locking element 40.

In order to ensure that the free ends 42 are sufficiently close to each other to reach the engagement position, it can be provided that the counter-part 12 is positioned close to the upper edge of the wing 11, i.e. at least 15mm, preferably at least 10mm, and more preferably at least twice the diameter of the ring forming the locking element 40.

Fig. 7 represents the end of the operation, in which the pusher head 20 is in the active position and the deformable coupling member 50 is fully deployed. Note that the piston 31 has been displaced by a piston stroke Cp and the pusher head 20 has been displaced by a greater stroke Ct. In this case, Ct > 2 × Cp, which means that, in other words, under the direct force of the pyrotechnic actuator 30, the pusher 20, the anchoring portion 110 and therefore the vehicle hood 100 have been displaced by a piston stroke Cp and then turned into the active position by inertia. Note that, therefore, the piston 31 no longer contacts the push head 20 at all at this stage.

It may be important to ensure that the locking element 40 reaches the engaged position while the piston 31 is still in contact with the pusher head 20 (i.e., before being displaced due to inertia). For such purpose, in order to ensure that the free ends 42 approach each other in a sufficiently fast manner to reach the engagement position, it may be provided that the counter part 12 is located close to the upper edge of the wing part 11, i.e. at least 25% of the total piston stroke Cp, preferably at least 20% of the total piston stroke Cp. It can also be provided that the leg of the locking element 40 must cover the shortest possible distance between the position of fig. 5 and the position of fig. 6. In the cut-out shown in fig. 5, it can be provided that the free ends 42 are located at a predetermined distance from each other, which is smaller than one diameter of the head of the shoulder pin 111 plus the clearance. The gap may be less than twice the diameter of the ring forming the locking element 40.

In fig. 7, the locking element 40 is still in the engaged position, which ensures that, for example, the vehicle hood 100 is engaged with the pusher head 20 and cannot be opened further.

In summary, the hood lifting device according to the invention makes it possible to ensure the free opening and closing of the vehicle hood 100 when the pushing head is in the rest position. As soon as or as soon as the push head 20 leaves the rest position, the locking element is disengaged from the base 10 to turn to the engaged configuration, which ensures that the vehicle hood is correctly engaged with the push head 20 and can no longer be disengaged.

It is to be understood that various modifications and/or improvements obvious to those skilled in the art may be made to the various embodiments of the invention described in this specification without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, reference is made to a pyrotechnic actuator comprising an electric pyrotechnic igniter, but it is conceivable to use a relay charge or an additional charge.

Furthermore, deformable coupling members 50 are mentioned, but several deformable members, elastic or plastic deformation and even reversible deformation, are conceivable to allow damping of the vehicle hood after impact with a pedestrian, which present hysteresis to allow, for example, a quick and easy deployment from the rest position to the active position (in other words, without a large amount of energy), and damping with significant energy dissipation when finally returning to the rest position.

Finally, the base 10, the deformable coupling member 50 and the pusher head 20 are made of the same sheet metal, but it is possible to envisage using different parts coupled to each other.