IP Library Granted Patent US 8,075,048
Granted Patent B2
US 8,075,048 · App. 11/661,443 · Granted Dec 13, 2011

Bonnet for automobile having automobiles that protects the heads of pedestrians

Assignee: Toray Industries, Inc.
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,075,048
App. No.
11/661,443
Granted
Dec 13, 2011
Kind
B2
Abstract

A bonnet for an automobile, the bonnet having an outer member made from fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and an inner member made from FRP, joined to the back-surface side of the outer, wherein the inner is separated into two parts in the forward and backward direction of a vehicle body. The bonnet can satisfy impact absorbing performance and predetermined required performance for deformation in a collision accident etc., and can improve easiness of production.

Claims (39)

1. A bonnet for an automobile constructed to protect heads of pedestrians comprising an outer member made from fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and an inner member made from FRP joined to a back-surface side of said outer member, wherein said inner member has a stiffener structure formed in a hat shape in cross section, and at least a part of said inner member has a deformable sectional portion formed as a structure capable of being deformed at a rising surface part of said hat shape by a vertical load and consists of two separate parts longitudinally spaced apart from each other in a forward and backward position of a vehicle body, wherein at least a part of said inner member has a stiffener structure formed in a schematic hat shape in cross section, a bottom surface of said inner member is inclined relative to a vehicle body-side facing surface, and said inner member is formed in a rotational deformable shape in which a rotational deformation of said inner member toward a central portion side in a plane direction of said bonnet is possible after a part of said bottom surface of said inner member comes into contact with said vehicle body-side facing surface.

2. A bonnet for an automobile constructed to protect heads of pedestrians comprising an outer member made from fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) and an inner member made from FRP joined to a back-surface side of said outer member, wherein 1) said inner member has a stiffener structure formed in a hat shape in cross section, and at least a part of said inner member has a deformable sectional portion formed as a structure capable of being deformed at a rising surface part of said hat shape by a vertical load and consists of two separate parts longitudinally spaced apart from each other in a forward and backward position of a vehicle body, and 2) at least a part of said outer member has a sandwich structure in which a core material is interposed between FRP skin plates, wherein at least a part of said inner member has a stiffener structure formed in a schematic hat shape in cross section, a bottom surface of said inner member is inclined relative to a vehicle body-side facing surface, and said inner member is formed in a rotational deformable shape in which a rotational deformation of said inner member toward a central portion side in a plane direction of said bonnet is possible after a part of said bottom surface of said inner member comes into contact with said vehicle body-side facing surface.

3. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said outer member comprises an FRP single plate.

4. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein carbon fibers are used as reinforcing fibers for at least an FRP of said outer member.

5. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said two parts of said inner member are disposed in said forward and backward direction of a vehicle body with a space.

6. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein a striker is attached to a part at a front side of said vehicle body of said inner member.

7. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein a hinge attaching fitting is attached to a part at a rear side of said vehicle body of said inner member.

8. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein hinge attaching fittings are attached to both sides in a transverse direction of said vehicle body of a part at a rear side of said vehicle body of said inner member, and a distance between said both hinge attaching fittings determined along said part at a rear side of said vehicle body of said inner member is longer than a distance between said both hinge attaching fittings determined linearly.

9. The bonnet for an automobile according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed as a structure capable of being deformed at a rising surface parts of said hat shape by a vertical load.

10. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed as a structure capable of being deformed at one of both rising surface parts of said hat shape by a vertical load.

11. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is provided in a portion of said inner member extending in a transverse direction of said vehicle body partially in an extending direction of said portion of said inner member.

12. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is provided in a portion of said inner member extending along an outer edge of said outer member partially in an extending direction of said portion of said inner member.

13. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said inner member has both of said deformable sectional portion and a usual sectional portion which is not formed as a structure capable of being deformed at a rising surface part of said hat shape by a vertical load, and a sectional structure is gradually changed between said deformable sectional portion and said usual sectional portion.

14. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by forming a rising surface part of said hat shape as a polygonal line shape.

15. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by forming a rising surface part of said hat shape as a stepped shape.

16. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by forming a rising surface part of said hat shape as a curved shape.

17. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by making a thickness of a rising surface part of said hat shape partially small.

18. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by partially changing a lamination structure of an FRP of a rising surface part of said hat shape.

19. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said inner member having said stiffener structure formed in said hat shape in cross section is formed as an FRP plate structure.

20. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein at least one of rising surface parts of said schematic hat shape is formed as a deformable sectional portion capable of being deformed by a vertical load.

21. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein a sectional portion having said rotational deformable shape is provided in a portion of said inner member extending in a transverse direction of said vehicle body partially in an extending direction of said portion of said inner member.

22. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein a sectional portion having said rotational deformable shape is provided in a portion of said inner member extending along an outer edge of said outer member partially in an extending direction of said portion of said inner member.

23. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said inner member has both of a sectional portion having said rotational deformable shape and a usual sectional portion which is not formed in a rotational deformable shape, and a sectional structure is gradually changed between said rotational deformable sectional portion and said usual sectional portion.

24. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by forming a rising surface part of said schematic hat shape as a polygonal line shape.

25. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by forming a rising surface part of said schematic hat shape as a stepped shape.

26. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by forming a rising surface part of said schematic hat shape as a curved shape.

27. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by making a thickness of a rising surface part of said schematic hat shape partially small.

28. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said deformable sectional portion is formed by partially changing a lamination structure of an FRP of a rising surface part of said schematic hat shape.

29. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said inner having said stiffener structure formed in said schematic hat shape in cross section is formed as an FRP plate structure.

30. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said two parts of said inner member extend in a transverse direction of said vehicle body substantially over a width of said outer member, respectively.

31. The bonnet according to claim 30 , wherein at least one part of said inner member each further has a portion extending along an outer edge of said outer member.

32. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said two parts of said inner member in a transverse direction of said vehicle body have different lengths.

33. The bonnet according to claim 32 , wherein a length of a part at a rear side of said vehicle body of said inner member in said transverse direction of said vehicle body is greater than a length of a part at a front side of said vehicle body of said inner member in said transverse direction of said vehicle body.

34. The bonnet according to claim 2 , wherein said two parts of said inner member have different rigidities.

35. The bonnet according to claim 34 , wherein a rigidity of a part of said inner member at a rear side of said vehicle body is set smaller than a rigidity of a front-side part of said inner member.

36. The bonnet according to claim 34 , wherein a rigidity of a part at a rear side of said vehicle body of said inner member is set greater than a rigidity of a front-side part of said inner member.

37. The bonnet according to claim 34 , wherein said difference in rigidity is given by a difference in cross-sectional shape between both parts of said inner member.

38. The bonnet according to claim 34 , wherein said difference in rigidity is given by a difference in lamination structure of FRP between FRPs forming both parts of said inner member.

39. The bonnet according to claim 34 , wherein said difference in rigidity is given by a difference in kind of reinforcing fiber of FRP between FRPs forming both parts of said inner member.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 13, 2007
From: KIMOTO, YUKITANE; KIYAMA, HIROSHI
To: TORAY INDUSTRIES, INC.
Reel/Frame 019002/0933 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2004-252335 · Aug 31, 2004 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20080066983A1 · Mar 20, 2008