Title of Invention

BUMPER ATTACHING STRUCTURE

Abstract The present invention provides a bumper attaching structure in which, when a rear bumper is attached to the vehicle body, an attaching portion of the rear bumper is easily caused to coincide with an attaching portion on the vehicle body side. A protruding member provided on the rear bumper is molded integrally with the back face of the rear bumper, and protrudes on the front side of a vehicle body. The protruding member is provided with a flat-plate shaped base plate, and the base plate is formed with a lower mounting hole portion through which a clip inserted on the tip end side, and is formed with an elongated hole for draining at the central portion. On both sides of the base plate are erected flanges for reinforcement, and at the tip end portion of the protruding member is provided a tongue-shaped extending portion. The extending portion is inclined so that the tip end thereof is directed downward from the base plate, and the width thereof is made narrower than that of the base plate and the thickness thereof is made smaller than that of the base plate to provide flexibility.
Full Text The present invention relates to a bumper attaching structure in which an automotive bumper can be attached easily to the vehicle body side. 2. Description of Related Art—
FIG. 6 shows a rear bumper 2 attached to the rear part of a vehicle body 1. At the upper edge portion of the rear bumper 2 are formed three upper mounting hole portions 3 to 5, and on both sides thereof are formed two side mounting hole portions 6 and 7. Also, in protruding members 8 and 9 provided at two places of the lower part of the rear bumper 2, lower mounting hole portions 10 and 11 are formed.
FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional construction of the upper mounting hole portion 4 in the state in which the rear bumper 2 is attached to the vehicle body 1. The upper mounting hole portion 4 is attached to a rear skirt panel 14 disposed under a back door opening 12 on the vehicle body side. Specifically, the rear skirt panel 14 is formed with a hole through which a bolt 15 is inserted, and is provided with a nut 16 welded on the cabin side of the hole.
On the other hand, for the rear bumper 2, the upper edge portion thereof is erected upward, and is provided with the
upper mounting hole portion 4. The upper mounting hole portion 4 of the rear bumper 2 is fixed by the bolt 15 and the nut 16. Also, the mounting hole portions 3 and 5 are similarly fixed by a bolt and a nut.
FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional construction of the side mounting hole portion 6 in the state in which the rear bumper 2 is attached to the vehicle body 1. The side mounting hole portion 6 is attached to the lower part of a side body outer panel 17 of the vehicle body 1. As shown in the figure, the lower part of the side body outer panel 17 is provided with an attaching bottom plate 18 directed substantially horizontally toward the inside of the vehicle body, and a hole through which a clip 22 is inserted is formed in the attaching bottom plate 18.
On the other hand, on the back face side of the rear bumper 2, a horizontal surface is provided so as to lap on the attaching bottom plate 18, and the side mounting hole portion 6 is provided on the horizontal surface. Thus, at both end portions of the rear bumper 2, the side mounting hole portion 6 is fixed to the attaching bottom plate 18 by the clip 22.
FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional construction of the lower mounting hole portion 10 in the state in which the rear bumper 2 is attached to the vehicle body 1. The lower mounting hole portion 10 is attached to an attaching flange 20 provided at the lower part of a rear combination outer panel 19 of the
vehicle body 1. The attaching flange 20 is protruded substantially horizontally on the rear side of the vehicle body from the lower part of the rear combination outer panel 19, and a hole through which a clip 22 is inserted is formed in the attaching flange 20. The arrow mark F in FIG. 9 indicates the front direction of the vehicle body.
A protruding member 8 of the rear bumper 2 protrudes horizontally on the front side of the vehicle body so as to engage with the surface of the attaching flange 20. The protruding member 8 of the rear bumper 2 is lapped on the lower part of the attaching flange 20, and the clip 22 is inserted into the lower mounting hole portion 10 , by which the rear bumper 2 is fixed to the attaching flange 20. OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Of the mounting hole portions of the rear bumper 2, the lower mounting hole portion 10 cannot be provided at the lower end of the rear bumper 2 because of the construction of the rear combination outer panel, so that a bracket-shaped lower mounting hole portion 10 must inevitably be provided at an invisible portion at an intermediate height on the back side of the design face of the rear bumper 2. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the protruding member 8 is attached to the attaching flange 20 of the rear combination outer panel 19 by lapping, the protruding member 8 is invisible at the time of the assembly of the rear bumper 2. For this reason, the
protruding member 8 may be lapped on the upper face of the attaching flange 20 as indicated by two-dot chain line in FIG. 9.
The clip 22 is inserted through the lower mounting hole portion 10 at the final stage of the assembly of the rear bumper. Therefore, if the protruding member 8 is lapped inversely on the attaching flange 20, the attachment of the rear bumper 2 becomes improper. In this case, the upper mounting hole portions 3 to 5 and the side mounting hole portions 6 and 7 must be removed, and the rear bumper 2 must be assembled again, which results in a significant decrease in work efficiency.
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and accordingly an object thereof is to provide a bumper attaching structure in which an attaching portion of a rear bumper is easily caused to coincide with an attaching portion on the vehicle body side when the rear bumper is attached to the vehicle body.
To effectively achieve the above object, the present invention provides a bumper attaching structure in which a protruding member extending toward a vehicle body is provided on the back face of a bumper, and the protruding member is lapped on and fixed to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side, by which the bumper is attached to the vehicle body, characterized in that an extending portion for guiding the protruding member to the attaching portion on the vehicle side is provided at the tip end portion of the protruding member of the bumper, and the tip end of the extending portion is inclined so as to intrude over or under the attaching portion.
Also, the present invention provides a bumper attaching structure in which a protruding member extending toward a vehicle body is provided on the back face of a bumper, and the protruding member is lapped on and fixed to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side, by which the bumper is attached to the vehicle body, characterized in that flanges are erected on both sides of the protruding member, a guide portion for guiding the protruding member to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side is provided at the tip end of the flange, and the tip end side of the guide portion is inclined to the outside in the width direction of the protruding member.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rear bumper to which a bumper attaching structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a protruding member formed on the back face of the rear bumper shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a state in which the protruding member of the rear bumper shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a rear combination outer panel;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a bumper attaching structure in accordance a modification of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bumper attaching structure in accordance another modification of the present invention;
FIG- 6 is a perspective view showing the rear part of an automobile to which a rear bumper is attached;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an attaching structure of an upper mounting hole portion of a rear bumper of the related art (and this embodiment);
FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an attaching structure of a side mounting hole portion of a rear bumper of the related art (and this embodiment);
FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an attaching structure of a lower mounting hole portion of a rear bumper of the related art; and
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an attaching structure of a lower mounting hole portion of a rear bumper of the related art, showing a state before the bumper is attached. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A bumper attaching structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A description will be made by applying the same reference numerals to the elements that are essentially the same as the elements of the related art.
FIG. 1 shows a back face of a rear bumper 2 in accordance with the present invention. The rear bumper 2 is formed of a
hard and elastic synthetic resin. At the upper edge portion of the rear bumper 2 are formed three upper mounting hole portions 3 to 5, and on both sides thereof are formed two side mounting hole portions 6 and 7. The rear bumper 2 of this embodiment differs from that of the related art in the construction of two protruding members 8 and 9 provided at intermediate positions.
FIG. 2 shows the shape of the protruding member 8 disposed on the rear bumper 2. The protruding member 8 is molded integrally with the back face of the rear bumper 2, and the whole thereof protrudes on the front side F of the vehicle body. The protruding member 8 is provided with a flat-plate shaped base plate 23, and the base plate 23 is formed with a lower mounting hole portion 10 through which a clip 22 is inserted on the tip end side, and is formed with an elongated hole 24 for draining at the central portion. On both sides of the base plate 23 are erected flanges 25 and 26 for reinforcement, and at the tip end portion of the protruding member 8 is provided a tongue-shaped extending portion 27. The extending portion 27 is inclined so that the tip end thereof is directed downward from the base plate 23, and the width thereof is made narrower than that of the base plate 23 and the thickness thereof is made smaller than that of the base plate 23 to provide flexibility.
As shown in FIG. 3, in the state in which the rear bumper 2 is attached to a vehicle body 1, the base plate 23 of the
protruding member 8 is lapped on the lower face of an attaching flange 20 provided at the lower part of a rear combination outer panel 19, and is attached to it.
When the rear bumper 2 is assembled to the vehicle body 1, since the extending portion 27 of the protruding member 8 is directed downward, the protruding member 8 is guided by the extending portion 27 intruding under the attaching flange 20, and is surely lapped on the lower part of the attaching flange 20, by which the protruding member 8 is fixed to the attaching flange 20 by the clip 22.
Therefore, even if the protruding member 8 is invisible at the time of assembling work, a vertical positional shift can be corrected and misalignment in assembling can be prevented.
Also, since the extending portion 27 is made flexible, the protruding member 8 can be released compulsorily from a mold at the time of molding, so that the construction of the mold can be simplified.
The above is a description of one embodiment of the present invention. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made on the basis of the technical concept of the present invention.
For example, when the protruding member 8 is lapped on the upper face of the attaching flange 20, as shown in FIG. 4, the extending portion 27 may be inclined upward from the tip end
of the protruding member 8.
Also, although the vertical positional shift is corrected in the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, guide portions 28 and 29 formed by extending the tip end portions of the flanges 25 and 26 are opened to the outside so as to fit to the attaching flange 20 on the vehicle body side, by which a transverse shift may be corrected. Although the extending portion 27 is omitted in FIG. 5, it may be used together with the guide portions 28 and 29.
Further, the above embodiment has been described by taking the rear bumper 2 as an example, the present invention can also be applied to a front bumper.
As described above, according to the bumper attaching structure in accordance with the present invention, in a bumper attaching structure in which a protruding member extending toward a vehicle body is provided on the back face of a bumper, and the protruding member is lapped on and fixed to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side, by which the bumper is attached to the vehicle body, an extending portion for guiding the protruding member to the attaching portion on the vehicle side is provided at the tip end portion of the protruding member of the bumper, and the tip end of the extending portion is inclined so as to intrude over or under the attaching portion. Therefore, when the bumper is attached to the vehicle body, a vertical shift can be corrected.
Also, according to the bumper attaching structure in accordance with the present invention, in a bumper attaching structure in which a protruding member extending toward a vehicle body is provided on the back face of a bumper, and the protruding member is lapped on and fixed to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side, by which the bumper is attached to the vehicle body, flanges are erected on both sides of the protruding member, a guide portion for guiding the protruding member to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side is provided at the tip end of the flange, and the tip end side of the guide portion is inclined to the outside in the width direction of the protruding member. Therefore, when the bumper is attached to the vehicle body, a shift in the width direction can be corrected.



WE CLAIM
1. A bumper attaching structure in which a protruding member extending toward a vehicle body is provided on the back face of a bumper, and said protruding member is lapped on and fixed to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side, by which said bumper is attached to the vehicle body, characterized in that an extending portion for guiding said protruding member over or under said attaching portion on the vehicle side is provided at the tip end portion of the protruding member of said bumper, and the tip end of said extending portion is inclined over or under said attaching portion according to the attachment position.
2. The bumper attaching structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width of said extending portion is made narrower than that of said protruding member, and the thickness of said extending portion is made smaller toward the tip end thereof.
3. A bumper attaching structure in which a protruding member extending toward a vehicle body is provided on the back face of a bumper, and said protruding member is lapped on and fixed to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side, by which said bumper is attached to the vehicle body, characterized in that flanges are erected on both sides of said protruding member, a guide portion for guiding said protruding member to an attaching portion on the vehicle body side is provided at the tip end of said flange, and the tip end side of said guide portion is inclined to the outside in the width direction of said protruding member.
4. A bumper attaching structure substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.


Documents:

0937-mas-1999 others.pdf

937-mas-1999-abstract.pdf

937-mas-1999-claims.pdf

937-mas-1999-correspondence others.pdf

937-mas-1999-correspondence po.pdf

937-mas-1999-description complete.pdf

937-mas-1999-drawings.pdf

937-mas-1999-form 1.pdf

937-mas-1999-form 19.pdf

937-mas-1999-form 26.pdf

937-mas-1999-form 3.pdf

937-mas-1999-form 5.pdf


Patent Number 248276
Indian Patent Application Number 937/MAS/1999
PG Journal Number 27/2011
Publication Date 08-Jul-2011
Grant Date 01-Jul-2011
Date of Filing 22-Sep-1999
Name of Patentee SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION
Applicant Address 300 TAKATSUKA-CHO, HAMAMATSU-SHI, SHIZUOKA-KEN
Inventors:
# Inventor's Name Inventor's Address
1 KAZUTOSHI NOMURA C/O SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, 300 TAKATSUKA-CHO, HAMAMATSU-SHI, SHIZUOKA-KEN
2 AKIRA YAMAGUCHI C/O SUZUKI MOTOR CORPORATION, 300 TAKATSUKA-CHO, HAMAMATSU-SHI,SHIZUOKA-KEN
PCT International Classification Number B60R19/24
PCT International Application Number N/A
PCT International Filing date
PCT Conventions:
# PCT Application Number Date of Convention Priority Country
1 276992/1998 1998-09-30 Japan