Bumper reinforcement

A bumper reinforcement includes end portions and an intermediate portion, wherein the bumper reinforcement is made of a light alloy extruded material including a hollow cross-section and is configured to be arranged at a vehicle, the bumper reinforcement is configured to be assembled on and supported by a supporting member at each of the end portions bent toward a vehicle body side, the hollow cross-section includes a closed cross-section at the intermediate portion and includes an open cross-section provided with an opening at each of the end portions, each of the end portions is formed in a manner that a thickness of the hollow cross-section thereof in a vehicle front-rear direction is gradually reduced toward an end, and each of the openings is configured to be at least partially closed with a connecting portion of the supporting member and is restricted from being expanded.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application 2011-242034, filed on Nov. 4, 2011, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to a bumper reinforcement.

BACKGROUND DISCUSSION

A known bumper reinforcement used for a bumper apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in JP2006-151095A (hereinafter referred to as Patent reference 1). The known bumper reinforcement disclosed in Patent reference 1 is made of aluminum alloy extruded material and includes a hollow cross-section, and is arranged at a vehicle to extend in a width direction thereof. The known bumper reinforcement includes end portions each of which is bent toward a vehicle body in a bending process. The known bumper reinforcement is mounted on a supporting member at the end portions and is supported by the supporting members. The supporting member may correspond to a side member of the vehicle body or a stay (alternatively, a crush box for absorbing an impact or a shock by crushing may be used) attached to the side member.

The known bumper reinforcement disclosed in Patent reference 1 is made of the aluminum alloy extruded material including the hollow cross section and is arranged at the vehicle to extend in the width direction thereof. The known bumper reinforcement includes a body portion of which end portions are bent toward the vehicle body and a pair of reinforcement members joined to vehicle-exterior-side-end-portions of the body portion. According to the known bumper reinforcement, a diagonally-cut-off portion (that is, the cut-off portion where an amount of cut-off increases gradually toward an end of the vehicle-exterior-side-end-portion) is formed at each vehicle-exterior-side-end-portion at which the bending is applied, and a reinforcement member is joined to each diagonally-cut-off portion. Thus, an inclined surface that matches design of the vehicle is obtained without bending the end portions of the body portion to a great extent. In addition, a strength reduction involved in cutting off the end portions of the body portion is compensated for by the reinforcement members joined to the diagonally-cut-off portion.

According to the known bumper reinforcement disclosed in Patent reference 1, the reinforcement members need to be joined to the diagonally-cut-off portion provided at each end portion of the body portion by means of welding or a mechanical connection, and thus the number of parts and a manufacturing workload increase, which may lead to cost increase. In addition, a shape or configuration of the diagonally-cut-off portion may deteriorate because the reinforcement members are joined to the vehicle-exterior-side-end-portions of the body portion.

A need thus exists for a bumper reinforcement which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of this disclosure, a bumper reinforcement includes end portions and an intermediate portion provided between the end portions, wherein the bumper reinforcement is made of a light alloy extruded material including a hollow cross-section and is configured to be arranged at a vehicle to be extended in a vehicle width direction, the bumper reinforcement is configured to be assembled on and supported by a supporting member at each of the end portions bent toward a vehicle body side, the hollow cross-section of the light alloy extruded material includes a closed cross-section at the intermediate portion and includes an open cross-section provided with an opening formed at the vehicle body side of the hollow cross-section at each of the end portions, each of the end portions is formed in a manner that a thickness of the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions in a vehicle front-rear direction is gradually reduced toward an end of each of the end portion, and each of the openings is configured to be at least partially closed with a connecting portion of the supporting member and is restricted from being expanded.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, a vehicle bumper apparatus includes a bumper reinforcement and a supporting member, wherein the bumper reinforcement is made of a light alloy extruded material including a hollow cross-section and configured to be arranged at a vehicle to be extended in a vehicle width direction, the bumper reinforcement includes end portions each of which is bent toward a vehicle body side, the end portions of the bumper reinforcement are configured to be assembled on the vehicle body via the supporting member, the hollow cross-section of the light alloy extruded material of the bumper reinforcement includes a closed cross-section at an intermediate portion provided between the end portions and includes an open cross-section provided with an opening formed at the vehicle body side of the hollow cross-section at each of the end portions, each of the end portions is formed in a manner that a thickness of the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions in a vehicle front-rear direction is gradually reduced toward an end of each of the end portion, and the supporting member includes a connecting portion, and each of the openings of the bumper reinforcement is at least partially closed with the connecting portion and is restricted from being expanded.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of this disclosure will be explained as follows with reference to the illustrations of the attached drawings. Each ofFIGS. 1 to 3illustrates a vehicle bumper apparatus100provided with a bumper reinforcement10and with crush boxes20,30provided as a pair on the left and right, according to the embodiment of the disclosure. The vehicle bumper apparatus100according to the embodiment is configured to be arranged at a front side of a vehicle. The vehicle bumper apparatus100is configured so that the bumper reinforcement10made of aluminum alloy extruded material and having an elongated shape is mounted on side members of a vehicle body and supported thereat via the crush boxes20,30. The side members of the vehicle body are arranged at respective lateral side portions of the vehicle in a width direction of the vehicle (in a vehicle width direction). Each of the side members has a relatively high rigidity in a front-rear direction of the vehicle (in a vehicle front-rear direction), compared to rigidities of other portions of the vehicle body in the vehicle front-rear direction.

In a case where a load is applied to the vehicle, the crush boxes20,30are crushed by the load in the vehicle front-rear direction and therefore absorb an impact energy caused by the load. The crush boxes20,30are arranged at front sides of the side members, respectively, so as to extend along the vehicle front-rear direction. The crush boxes20,30include main body portion21,31each formed in a tubular shape, vehicle body attaching portions22,32, and bumper attaching portions23,33. The main body portions21,31are positioned at respective intermediate portions of the crush boxes20,30in the vehicle front-rear direction and are arranged in the vehicle front-rear direction. The vehicle body attaching portions22,32are arranged at respective rear sides of the main body portions21,31and are fixedly attached to the main body portions21,31. The bumper attaching portion23,33are arranged at respective front sides of the main body portions21,31and are fixedly attached to the main body portions21,31.

Each of the main body portions21,31is formed so as to have a polygonal shape (for example, a hexagonal shape) in a vertical cross-section. Plural beads21a,31aare arranged at desired portions of the main body portions21,31, respectively. The vehicle body attaching portions22,32are fixed by welding to respective rear end portions of the main body portions21,31and are configured to be attached to respective front end portions of the side members. Each of the bumper attaching portions23,33includes a vertical plate portion23c,33cwhich is along, that is, conforms to, a rear surface of the bumper reinforcement10, an upper plate portion23a,33awhich is along, that is, conforms to, an upper surface of the bumper reinforcement10, and a lower plate portion23b,33bwhich is along, that is, conforms to, a bottom surface of the bumper reinforcement10, so that each of the bumper attaching portions23,33is formed to have a three-sided rectangular shape. The bumper attaching portions23,33are fixed by welding to respective front end portions of the main body portions21,31. In addition, each of the bumper attaching portions23,33is attached to the bumper reinforcement10by, for example, three bolts41and three nuts42. The nuts42are fixed by welding to respective rear surfaces of the vertical plate portion23c,33cof the bumper attaching portions23,33. The bolts41are threadedly engaged with or screwed into the respective nuts42through bolt insertion holes11,12and bolt attaching holes13,14which are provided at the bumper reinforcement10(refer toFIG. 10), thereby, the crush boxes20,30and the bumper reinforcement10are integrally connected to each other.

The bumper reinforcement10is arranged to extend in the vehicle width direction and is supported, at end portion10a,10bof the bumper reinforcement10, by the crush boxes20,30which are provided as a pair on the left and right. As illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 4, a hollow cross-section of an intermediate portion10cwhich is provided between the end portions10a,10band which has a linear configuration corresponds to a closed cross-section, and the closed cross-section is uniform in a lengthwise direction of the intermediate portion10c. As illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 3and5, the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions10a,10bcorresponds to an open cross-section including an opening A formed at a vehicle body side of the hollow cross-section. Each of the end portions10a,10bis formed to include a gradual change in a thickness T of the hollow cross-section in the vehicle front-rear direction so that the thickness T is set to be reduced gradually toward an end of each of the end portion10a,10b. The thickness T of the hollow cross-section is set to be T1at a substantially central portion of the intermediate portion10c(refer toFIG. 4), and is set to be T2(T1>T2) at a substantially central portion of each of the end portion10a,10b(refer toFIG. 5).

According to the bumper reinforcement10of the embodiment, as illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 3, an intermediate portion of each opening A in the vehicle width direction is at least partially closed with the vertical plate portions23c,33cof the bumper attaching portions23,33of the crush boxes20,30in order to restrict each opening A from being expanded. Each of the vertical plate portion23c,33cof the bumper attaching portions23,33serves as a connecting portion connecting a vertical wall B1of each of the end portions10a,10band a vertical wall B2of each of the end portions10a,10b. The vertical wall B1and the vertical wall B2are positioned above and below the opening A, respectively. At each portion of the bumper reinforcement10at which the bumper reinforcement10is assembled on the crush boxes20,30, an upper wall portion10dand a lower wall portion10eof the bumper reinforcement10are retained or held (in a sandwiched manner) by upper plate portions23a,33a(retaining portions) and lower plate portions23b,33b(the retaining portions) of the bumper attaching portions23,33(in a manner that the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10eare sandwiched between the upper plate portions23a,33aand the lower plate portions23b,33b). The expression “retained in a sandwiched manner between one member and the other member” used herein includes a state where a clearance is provided between the one member and the other member.

The bumper reinforcement10is manufactured through a first process, a second process, a third process, a fourth process and a fifth process. In the first process, an aluminum alloy extruded material Wo (a raw material) serving as a light alloy extruded material is prepared to be at a predetermined length L (commonly, the raw material is set at the predetermined length by means of cutting) (refer toFIG. 6). The aluminum alloy extruded material Wo includes a hollow and closed cross-section in a vertical section. After the first process, a cut-out N including a predetermined shape (for example, a V-shaped cut-out in the vehicle width direction) is formed at a portion of the vehicle body side of each of end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo in the second process (refer toFIG. 7). After the second process, each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo is bent toward the vehicle body side by performing a bending process in the third process (refer toFIG. 8). After the third process, each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo is formed to include the a predetermined configuration (so that the thickness T of the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions Wa, Wb in the vehicle front-rear direction is gradually changed, that is, gradually reduced toward the end of each of the end portions Wa, Wb) in the fourth process (refer toFIG. 9). After the fourth process, the bolt insertion holes11,12and the bolt attaching holes13,14are provided at each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo in the fifth process (refer toFIG. 10). In the fourth process, the vertical wall B1and the vertical wall B2which are positioned above and below the opening A respectively are pressed so that the vertical walls B1and B2in a state where the vertical walls B1and B2are drawn in the imaginary line are pressed to be in a state where the vertical walls B1and B2are drawn in the solid line as illustrated inFIG. 5. The manufacturing processes of the bumper reinforcement10are schematically illustrated inFIGS. 6 to 10, and therefore the shape and configuration of, for example, the raw material (Wo) illustrated inFIGS. 6 to 10may be different from the shape and configuration of the bumper reinforcement10illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 5.

According to the bumper reinforcement10of the embodiment, during the bending process where each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the raw material Wo is bent toward the vehicle body side (during the third process), the cut-out N formed in the second process functions effectively, thereby facilitating the bending process. Thus, an inclined surface (that is, a shape of a portion that is bent in the bending process) corresponding to design of the vehicle is easily obtained. In addition, a deterioration of strength that may be caused by the cut-out N (that is, the opening A) formed at the raw material Wo is compensated for by restricting the openings A from being expanded because the openings A are configured to be at least partially closed with the respective vertical plate portions23c,33cof the bumper attaching portions23,33of the crush boxes20,30that are assembled on the portions that are bent in the bending process. The hollow cross-section of the intermediate portion10cof the bumper reinforcement10corresponds to the closed cross-section and a shape of the closed cross-section of the intermediate portion10cis uniform in the lengthwise direction thereof. Accordingly, strength of the intermediate portion10cis appropriately ensured.

According to the bumper reinforcement10of the embodiment, a vehicle outer side of each of the end portions Wa, Wb is formed into a bent configuration in the bending process, however, an outer shape and configuration thereof maintains an outer shape of the raw material Wo, and therefore deterioration of the shape is not caused. In addition, the bumper reinforcement10may be manufactured by processing the raw material Wo (for example, by cutting, by forming the cut-out thereat, by bending and/or by applying the gradual change of the thickness) without need for a separate member, that is, a member provided separately from the raw material Wo, and thus, there is no need to join the separate member to the raw material Wo. Accordingly, the number of parts is reduced, and a manufacturing work load is reduced (by eliminating a joining process for joining the raw material and the separate member to each other), leading to cost reduction.

According to the bumper reinforcement10of the embodiment, at portions of the bumper reinforcement10at which the bumper reinforcement10is attached to the crush boxes20,30, the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10eof the bumper reinforcement10are retained (in the sandwiched manner) by the upper plate portions23a,33a(each serving as the retaining portion) and the lower plate portions23b,33b(each serving as the retaining portion). Thus, for example, at a small overlap impact or an off-set collision, torsion occurring to the bumper reinforcement10is restricted by the crush boxes20,30. Accordingly, functions (strength) of the bumper reinforcement10may be enhanced.

According to the embodiment, the bumper reinforcement10is configured to be assembled on the side members of the vehicle body via the crush boxes20,30and be supported by the crush boxes20,30(that is, the crush boxes20,30are configured to serve as supporting members of the bumper reinforcement10). However, the bumper reinforcement10may be configured to be assembled directly on the side members of the vehicle (that is, the side members of the vehicle are configured to serve as the supporting members of the bumper reinforcement10). According to the embodiment, the bumper reinforcement10is configured to be assembled on the crush boxes20,30by means of the bolts41and the nuts42. However, an assembly structure of the bumper reinforcement and the supporting member may be appropriately changed so that the bumper reinforcement is attached to the supporting member by welding, for example.

According to the bumper reinforcement10of the embodiment, the bumper reinforcement10is made of the aluminum alloy, however, the bumper reinforcement10may be made of light metal alloy, for example, magnesium alloy. According to the embodiment, the bumper reinforcement is applied to the vehicle bumper apparatus mounted on the front side of the vehicle, however, the bumper reinforcement of the embodiment may be applied to the vehicle bumper apparatus mounted at the rear side of the vehicle, in a similar manner to that explained in the embodiment or in a modified manner.

The bumper reinforcement10of this embodiment is manufactured through, for example, the first process, the second process, the third process and the fourth process. In the first process, the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo (the raw material) including the hollow cross-section is prepared to be at the predetermined length L (commonly, the raw material is set at the predetermined length by means of cutting). After the first process, the cut-out N including the predetermined shape is formed at a portion of the vehicle outer side of each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo in the second process. After the second process, each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo is bent toward the vehicle body side by performing the bending process in the third process. After the third process, each of the end portions Wa, Wb of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo is formed to include the predetermined configuration where the gradual change is added (so that the thickness T of the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions Wa, Wb in the vehicle front-rear direction is gradually changed so that the thickness T is reduced toward the end of each of the end portions Wa, Wb) in the fourth process.

According to the embodiment, the bumper reinforcement10includes the end portions10a,10band the intermediate portion10cprovided between the end portions10a,10b, wherein the bumper reinforcement10is made of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo including the hollow cross-section and is configured to be arranged at the vehicle to be extended in the vehicle width direction, the bumper reinforcement10is configured to be assembled on and supported by the crush boxes20,30at each of the end portions10a,10bbent toward the vehicle body side, the hollow cross-section of aluminum alloy extruded material Wo includes the closed cross-section at the intermediate portion10cand includes the open cross-section provided with the opening A formed at the vehicle body side of the hollow cross-section at each of the end portions10a,10b, each of the end portions10a,10bis formed in a manner that the thickness T of the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions10a,10bin the vehicle front-rear direction is gradually reduced toward the end of each of the end portion10a,10b, and each of the openings A is configured to be at least partially closed with the vertical plate portion23c,33cof the crush box20,30and is restricted from being expanded.

According to the above described structure, when each of the end portions10a,10bof the bumper reinforcement10is bent toward the vehicle body side, the opening A functions effectively, thereby facilitating the bending process. Thus, the inclined surface corresponding to the design of the vehicle is easily obtained. In addition, the deterioration of strength that may be caused by the opening A formed at the bumper reinforcement10is compensated for by restricting opening A from being expanded because the opening A is configured to be at least partially closed with the vertical plate portions23c,33cof the crush boxes20,30that are assembled on the respective bent portions. The hollow cross-section of the intermediate portion10cof the bumper reinforcement10corresponds to the closed cross-section, and thus the strength of the intermediate portion10cis appropriately ensured.

According to the above described structure, the vehicle outer side of each of the end portions10a,10bis formed into the bent configuration in the bending process, however, the outer shape thereof maintains the outer shape of the raw material Wo, and therefore the deterioration of the shape is not caused. In addition, the bumper reinforcement10may be manufactured by processing the raw material Wo (for example, by cutting, by forming the opening A, by bending, by adding the gradual change) without need for the separate member, that is, the member provided separately from the raw material Wo, and thus, there is no need to join the separate member to the row material Wo. Accordingly, the number of parts is reduced, and the manufacturing work load is reduced (by eliminating the joining process for joining the row material Wo and the separate member to each other), leading to the cost reduction.

According to the embodiment, the bumper reinforcement10further includes the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10e, wherein the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10eare configured to be retained by the upper plate portion23a,33aand the lower plate portion23b,33bof the respective crush boxes20,30at the portions of the bumper reinforcement10at which the bumper reinforcement10is assembled on the crush boxes20,30.

According to the above described structure, at the portions of the bumper reinforcement10at which the bumper reinforcement10is attached to the crush boxes20,30, the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10eof the bumper reinforcement10are retained by the upper plate portions23a,33a(each serving as the retaining portion) and the lower plate portions23b,33b(each serving as the retaining portion). In this case, at the small overlap impact or the off-set collision, the torsion is restricted by the crush boxes20,30from occurring to the bumper reinforcement10. Accordingly, the functions of the bumper reinforcement10may be enhanced.

According to the embodiment, the shape of the closed cross-section of the intermediate portion10cis uniform in the lengthwise direction of the intermediate portion10c.

According to the above described structure, the strength of the intermediate portion10cis appropriately ensured.

According to another aspect of this disclosure, the vehicle bumper apparatus100includes the bumper reinforcement10and the crush boxes20,30, wherein the bumper reinforcement10is made of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo including the hollow cross-section and configured to be arranged at the vehicle to be extended in the vehicle width direction, the bumper reinforcement10includes the end portions10a,10beach of which is bent toward the vehicle body side, the end portions10a,10bof the bumper reinforcement10are configured to be assembled on the vehicle body via the crush boxes20,30, the hollow cross-section of the aluminum alloy extruded material Wo of the bumper reinforcement10includes the closed cross-section at the intermediate portion10cprovided between the end portions10a,10band includes the open cross-section provided with the opening A formed at the vehicle body side of the hollow cross-section at each of the end portions10a,10b, each of the end portions10a,10bis formed in a manner that the thickness T of the hollow cross-section of each of the end portions10a,10bin the vehicle front-rear direction is gradually reduced toward the end of each of the end portion10a,10b, and the crush boxes20,30include the vertical plate portions23c,33c, and each of the openings A of the bumper reinforcement10is at least partially closed with the vertical plate portion23c,33cand is restricted from being expanded.

According to the above described structure, when each of the end portions10a,10bof the bumper reinforcement10is bent toward the vehicle body side, the opening A functions effectively, thereby facilitating the bending process. Thus, the inclined surface corresponding to the design of the vehicle is easily obtained. In addition, the deterioration of strength that may be caused by the opening A formed at the bumper reinforcement10is compensated for by restricting opening A from being expanded because the opening A is at least partially closed with the vertical plate portions23c,33cof the crush boxes20,30that are assembled on the respective bent portions. The hollow cross-section of the intermediate portion10cof the bumper reinforcement10corresponds to the closed cross-section, and thus the strength of the intermediate portion10cis appropriately ensured.

According to the above described structure, the vehicle outer side of each of the end portions10a,10bis formed into the bent configuration in the bending process, however, the outer shape thereof maintains the outer shape of the raw material Wo, and therefore the deterioration of the shape is not caused. In addition, the bumper reinforcement10may be manufactured by processing the raw material Wo (for example, by cutting, by forming the opening A, by bending, by adding the gradual change) without need for the separate member, that is, the member provided separately from the raw material Wo, and thus, there is no need to join the separate member to the row material Wo. Accordingly, the number of parts is reduced, and the manufacturing work load is reduced (by eliminating the joining process for joining the row material Wo and the separate member to each other), leading to the cost reduction.

According to the embodiment, the crush boxes20,30include the upper plate portion23a,33aconforming to the upper wall portion10dof the bumper reinforcement10which corresponds to the upper surface of the bumper reinforcement10and the lower plate portion23b,33bconforming to the lower wall portion10eof the bumper reinforcement10which corresponds to the lower surface of the bumper reinforcement10, and the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10eof the bumper reinforcement10are retained at the upper plate portion23a,33aand the lower plate portion23b,33bof the crush boxes20,30in a manner that the upper wall portion10dand the lower wall portion10eare sandwiched between the upper plate portion23a,33aand the lower plate portion23b,33b.

According to the above described structure, for example, at the small overlap impact or the off-set collision, the torsion occurring to the bumper reinforcement10is restricted by the crush boxes20,30. Accordingly, the functions (strength) of the bumper reinforcement10may be enhanced.

According to the embodiment, the shape of the closed cross-section of the intermediate portion10cof the bumper reinforcement10is uniform in the lengthwise direction of the intermediate portion10c.

According to the above described structure, the strength of the intermediate portion10cis appropriately ensured.