Active hood hinge device for vehicles

Disclosed is an active hood hinge device for vehicles. The active hood hinge device includes an actuator bracket rotatably coupled to a mounting bracket of a vehicle body at one side, a locking lever rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket and driven by an operating force of an actuator, a long link rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket, and unfolded and rotated from the actuator bracket by a rotating force of the locking lever, and a hood bracket rotatably coupled with the long link and fixedly coupled to a hood panel at opposite sides.

The present application claims priority of Korean Patent Application Number 10-2013-0157633 filed on Dec. 17, 2013, the entire contents of which application are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates, in general, to an active hood hinge device for vehicles and more particularly, to an active hood hinge device for vehicles which, when a pedestrian is hit by a vehicle, allows a hood bracket to increase in a lifting distance, thereby improving protection of struck pedestrians, while allowing an actuator to be made compact, thereby being applicable to compact vehicles.

2. Description of Related Art

Generally, active hood hinge devices are mounted to connect a hood panel for covering an engine room to a vehicle body at both rear lateral sides of the hood panel. When a pedestrian is accidentally hit by a vehicle, the active hood hinge device allows the rear side of the hood panel to lift in order to prevent the head of a pedestrian from colliding directly with the engine, transmission, or other rigid part of the vehicle.

A conventional active hood hinge device is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. In the figures, the structure of the conventional active hood hinge device is such that an actuator1and an actuator bracket2are directly coupled together, and a hood bracket3which is coupled to a hood panel is connected with the actuator bracket2by means of a plurality of connection links4. However, the conventional active hood hinge device has a problem in that, because the actuator1directly operates the actuator bracket2, a lifting distance L1of the hood bracket3according to the operation of the actuator1is not large, thus insufficient to protect a pedestrian.

Further, since the capacity and therefore the size of the actuator1should be large in order for the actuator1to directly operate the actuator bracket2, it is difficult to install the conventional actuator1having a large size in a vehicle due to interference with a cowl panel5at a section thereof (e.g. M1inFIG. 1), making it impossible to be applicable to compact vehicles.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art and/or other problems, and the present invention is intended to provide an active hood hinge device for vehicles which, when a pedestrian is accidentally hit by a vehicle, allows a hood bracket to increase in a lifting distance according to the operation of an actuator, thereby further improving protection of pedestrians, while allowing the actuator to be made compact owing to the increased lifting distance of the hood bracket, thereby being applicable to compact vehicles.

In order to solve the above and/or other problems, in various aspect, the present invention provides an active hood hinge device for vehicles, including: an actuator bracket rotatably coupled to a mounting bracket of a vehicle body at one side thereof, a locking lever rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket, wherein the locking lever is driven by an operating force of an actuator, a long link rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket, wherein the long link is unfolded and rotated from the actuator bracket by a rotating force of the locking lever, and a hood bracket rotatably coupled with the long link and fixedly coupled to a hood panel at opposite sides thereof.

The active hood hinge device may further include a short link engaged with the locking lever at one side thereof and rotatably coupled to the hood bracket at the other side thereof, wherein the short link is configured to restrict a motion of the locking lever to maintain an initial state of the locking lever when the actuator is not operated, and to be disconnected from the locking lever to allow the locking lever to rotate when the actuator is operated.

The locking lever may have a substantially-circular integral lever-engaging protrusion for connection with the short link, and the short link may have a link-engaging shaft to be engaged with the lever-engaging protrusion.

The active hood hinge device may further include a stopper bracket rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket, wherein the stopper bracket is configured to restrict a motion of the locking lever to maintain an initial state of the locking lever when the actuator is not operated, and to be disconnected from the locking lever so that the stopper bracket rotates when the locking lever rotates as the actuator is operated.

The locking lever and the stopper bracket may respectively have a lever protrusion and a bracket protrusion that engage with each other. The locking lever may be configured to come into contact with the actuator bracket to rotate the actuator bracket when the locking lever is disconnected from the short link and the stopper bracket and rotates as the actuator is operated, thereby rotating the long link to lift up the hood bracket. The actuator bracket may be integrally provided with a bracket contact for contact with the locking lever that is rotating.

The locking lever may be configured to come into contact with the long link to rotate the long link to lift up the hood bracket when the locking lever is disconnected from the short link and the stopper bracket and rotates as the actuator is operated. The long link may be integrally provided with a link contact for contact with the locking lever that is rotating.

The long link and the actuator bracket may respectively have a link fixing shaft and a shaft-engaging protrusion to be engaged with the link fixing shaft, to maintain a lifting motion of the hood bracket when the hood bracket is being lifted up as the long link rotates with the operation of the actuator. The long link and the stopper bracket may respectively have a link fixing protrusion and a stopper protrusion to be engaged with the link fixing protrusion, to maintain a lifting motion of the hood bracket when the hood bracket is being lifted up as the long link rotates with the operation of the actuator.

The active hood hinge device may further include a stopper protrusion coupled with the mounting bracket and engaged with a bottom-opened lever groove formed in the locking lever, thereby restricting a motion of the locking lever to maintain an initial state of the locking lever when the actuator is not operated.

The actuator may include a linear cylinder substantially vertically arranged while passing through the mounting bracket, and an operating rod moving along the cylinder.

According to the present invention, the configuration is such that the actuator actuates the locking lever, which in turn actuates the actuator bracket, to which the locking lever is connected by means of the link structure, finally lifting up the hood bracket, thereby considerably increasing a lifting distance of the hood bracket and thus minimizing a struck pedestrian's injuries, while allowing a compact-size actuator to be used due to increased lifting distance, thereby contributing to reduced weight and easy installation, as well as adaptation to compact vehicles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown inFIGS. 3 to 5B, an active hood hinge device according to an embodiment includes: an actuator bracket20which is rotatably coupled to a mounting bracket10of a vehicle body at one side thereof, a locking lever40which is rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket20, wherein the locking lever is driven by an operating force of an actuator30, a long link50which is rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket20, wherein the long link is unfolded and rotated from the actuator bracket20with a rotating force of the locking lever40, and a hood bracket60which is rotatably coupled with the long link50and fixedly coupled to a hood panel61at opposite sides thereof.

The active hood hinge device further includes a short link70which is engaged with the locking lever40at one side thereof and is rotatably coupled to the hood bracket60at the other side thereof, wherein the short link is configured to, when the actuator30is not operated, restrict a motion of the locking lever40to maintain an initial state of the locking lever, and to, when the actuator30is operated, be disconnected from the locking lever40to allow the locking lever40to rotate smoothly.

The locking lever40has a circular or substantially circular integral lever-engaging protrusion41for connection with the short link70, and the short link70has a link-engaging shaft71to be engaged with the lever-engaging protrusion41.

The actuator30is provided with a linear cylinder31which is vertically or substantially vertically arranged while passing through the mounting bracket10, and an operating rod32which moves along the cylinder31. The operating rod32is configured to come into contact with and rotate the locking lever40.

The active hood hinge device further includes a stopper bracket80which is rotatably coupled to the actuator bracket20, wherein the stopper bracket is configured to, when the actuator30is not operated, restrict a motion of the locking lever40to maintain an initial state of the locking lever, and to, when the locking lever40rotates as the actuator30is operated, be disconnected from the locking lever40so that the stopper bracket rotates. The locking lever40and the stopper bracket80respectively have a lever protrusion42and a bracket protrusion81that engage with each other.

In an embodiment, the locking lever40is configured to, when the locking lever40is disconnected from the short link70and the stopper bracket80and rotates as the actuator30is operated, come into contact with the actuator bracket20to rotate the actuator bracket20and resultantly the long link50so as to lift up the hood bracket60. To this end, the actuator bracket20is integrally provided with a bracket contact21for contact with the locking lever40that is rotating.

In an embodiment, the long link50and the actuator bracket20respectively have a link fixing shaft51and a shaft-engaging protrusion22to be engaged with the link fixing shaft51, in order to maintain a lifting motion of the hood bracket60when lifted up as the long link50rotates with the operation of the actuator30.

InFIGS. 3 to 5B, reference numeral91denotes a hinge axis that is the center of rotation of the actuator bracket20, reference numeral92denotes a hinge axis that is the center of rotation of the locking lever40, reference numeral93denotes a hinge axis that is the center of rotation of the long link50, reference numeral94denotes a hinge axis that is the center of rotation of the hood bracket60, reference numeral95denotes a hinge axis that is the center of rotation of the short link70, and reference numeral96denotes a hinge axis that is the center of rotation of the stopper bracket80.

The operation of the embodiment will now be described.

FIG. 3shows the state before the actuator30is operated. Here, the locking lever40maintains the connection with the short link70and the stopper link80, so that the actuator bracket20, the long link50, and the hood bracket60are folded and overlap together.

FIG. 4shows the state during operation. That is, when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian in the state before operation like inFIG. 3, a controller operates the actuator30so that the operating rod32of the actuator30moves along the cylinder31to pressurize the locking lever40. Then, the locking lever40rotates counterclockwise about the hinge axis92and is disconnected from the short link70as well as from the stopper bracket80, so that the locking lever40comes into contact with the bracket contact21of the actuator bracket20.

FIGS. 5A and 5Bshow the state after operation. That is, when the locking lever40pressurizes the actuator bracket20with continuous rotating action in the state ofFIG. 4, the actuator bracket20rotates counterclockwise about the hinge axis91and thus moves away from the mounting bracket10of a vehicle, as the actuator bracket20rotates, the long link50rotates clockwise about hinge axis93and thus moves away from the actuator bracket20, and as the long link50rotates, the hood bracket60rotates counterclockwise about the hinge axis94. As a result, the hood panel61, which is coupled with the hood bracket60, is lifted up.

When the lifting action of the hood bracket60is completed as shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, the fixing shaft-engaging protrusion22is engaged with the link-fixing shaft51, so the lifted state of the hood bracket60can be continuously maintained, thereby minimizing vibrations of the hood panel61and therefore reducing pedestrian's injuries.

In the meantime,FIGS. 6 to 8show an active hood hinge device for vehicles according to another embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, only the different structure and operation of the embodiment with respect to the former embodiment shown inFIGS. 3 to 5Bwill be described. In addition, the configuration and mounting structure of the actuator30are the same as in the embodiment ofFIGS. 3 to 5B.

In the present embodiment, the locking lever40is configured to, when the locking lever40is disconnected from the short link70and the stopper bracket80and rotates as the actuator30is operated, come into contact with the long link50to rotate the long link50so as to lift up the hood bracket60. To this end, the long link50is integrally provided with a link contact53for contact with the locking lever50that is rotating.

Further, the long link50and the stopper bracket80respectively have a link fixing protrusion54and a stopper protrusion81ato be engaged with the link fixing protrusion54, in order to maintain a lifting motion of the hood bracket60when lifted up as the long link50rotates with the operation of the actuator30.

That is, the configuration is such that, when the locking lever40rotates with the operation of the actuator30, the locking lever40comes into contact with the link contact53of the long link50and then rotates the long link50, and as the long link50rotates, the actuator bracket20and the hood bracket60rotate at the same time, so the hood bracket60is finally lifted up.

Further, when the lifting action of the hood bracket60is completed as shown inFIG. 8, the link-fixing protrusion54is engaged with the stopper protrusion81a, so the lifted state of the hood bracket60can be continuously maintained.

FIG. 9shows a further embodiment for maintaining an initial stage of the locking lever. AlthoughFIGS. 3 to 8use the stopper bracket80for maintaining the initial state of the locking lever40, the present embodiment employs a stopper protrusion13. That is, the stopper protrusion13is coupled with the mounting bracket10while passing through the actuator bracket20and the locking lever40is provided with a bottom-opened lever groove44to be engaged with the stopper protrusion13, in order to maintain the initial state of the locking lever40obtained when restricted as the actuator30is not operated.

Thus, when the locking lever40rotates with the operation of the actuator30, the stopper protrusion13is disconnected from the lever groove44of the locking lever40so that the locking lever40rotates, and the actuator bracket20, the long link50, and the hood bracket60rotate, so the hood bracket60is finally lifted up.

According to the present invention, the configuration is such that the actuator30actuates the locking lever40, which in turn actuates the actuator bracket20, to which the locking lever40is connected by means of the link structure, finally lifting up the hood bracket60, thereby considerably increasing a final lifting distance L2of the hood bracket60compared to the related art and thus sufficiently protecting a pedestrian and minimizing a pedestrian's injuries in the case of a collision accident.

Further, according to the present invention, the final lifting distance L2of the hood bracket60is considerably increased, so a compact-size actuator30can be used, thereby contributing to reduced weight and easy installation, as well as adaptation to compact vehicles.