GB2403694A

GB2403694A - A bonnet for a motor vehicle having shock absorbing members

Info

Publication number: GB2403694A
Application number: GB0414744A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Arthur Bowman; Nigel Dean; Christophe Bastien
Original assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2003-07-03
Filing date: 2004-07-01
Publication date: 2005-01-12
Anticipated expiration: 2024-07-01
Also published as: GB0315531D0; GB2403694B; GB0414744D0

Abstract

A bonnet 10 for a motor vehicle 5, which has a pair of wrap around light units 6 fitted towards the front of the body structure, includes a pair of shock absorbing members 20 positioned towards the front of the bonnet 10 one on each side of the vehicle immediately adjacent to and above a respective light unit 6. Each shock absorbing member 20 is shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the adjacent light unit 6 and has light reflecting properties which give the appearance that each light unit and its adjacent shock absorbing member is a single component when the bonnet is in a normal closed position. If the vehicle 5 collides with a pedestrian, the shock absorbing members 20 can prevent contact between the head of the pedestrian and the light units 6, particularly if the bonnet is arranged to be partially raised. The shock absorbing members 20 may be fastened between inner and outer skins (figure 3) of the bonnet, or they overlie an outer skin (figure 4). The front edge of the bonnet may be automatically raised in the event of a collision with a pedestrian.

Description

A Bonnet for a Motor Vehicle This invention relates to a bonnet for a

motor vehicle and in particular to a bonnet for a motor vehicle providing improved pedestrian safety.

It is commonplace to provide a front engined motor vehicle 5, as shown in Fig.1A of the accompanying drawings, with a bonnet 10 to cover an engine compartment of the vehicle 5. The bonnet 10 is normally constructed as an outer skin 11 and an inner skin (not visible on Fig.1A). The bonnet 10 has a front edge 21 extending across a front portion or grille of the vehicle 5 and a rear edge 22 positioned adjacent the lower edge of a windscreen 7 of the vehicle 5 and two longitudinal edges joining the front and rear edges 21 and 22.

In order to improve pedestrian safety it has become well known to mount the bonnet such that, in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, the bonnet 10 is deployed automatically by being raised from its normal closed position to a partially raised position.

The object of this deployment is to increase the distance between the bonnet 10 and any hard objects such as an engine fitted in the engine compartment. This reduces the risk of injury should a pedestrian be thrown onto the bonnet during a collision. One example of a mechanism used to deploy a bonnet is disclosed in EP-A-1078826.

The vehicle 5 is provided with so-called wrap-around light units. These light units 6 extend from the front of the vehicle into the side bodywork in the area around the front wheels, this part of the bodywork being often known as front wings or fenders. Such light units 6 can present a risk of injury in the event of a collision with a pedestrian less than one metro tall, e.g. a young child, because the head of the pedestrian may contact the relatively stiff and inflexible upper surface of the light unit 6. In addition, because the bonnet 10 is cut away at the front corners to provide for the light units 6 there is a risk that the head of a short pedestrian could enter the gap between the bonnet 10 and the upper surface of the light unit 6 when the bonnet 10 is in the partially raised position. - 2 -

It is an object of this invention to provide a bonnet with improved pedestrian impact performance.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a bonnet for a motor vehicle having a body structure which includes a passenger compartment, an engine compartment arranged forward of the passenger compartment and a pair of wrap around light units fitted towards the front of the body structure one on each side of the vehicle, the bonnet being in use arranged to cover the engine compartment when in a normally closed position and to provide access to the engine compartment when in a lifted or open position, wherein a pair of shock absorbing members are fitted to the bonnet such that in use of the vehicle the shock absorbing members are positioned towards the front of the bonnet one on each side of the vehicle immediately adjacent to and above a respective one of the light units, each shock absorbing member being shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the adjacent light unit and having light reflecting properties to give the appearance that each light unit and the adjacent shock absorbing member is a single component when the bonnet is in the closed position.

Conveniently, the bonnet comprises an inner skin and an outer skin which is fastened to the inner skin, each shock absorbing member overlying and being fastened to the inner skin. In such a case an inner end of each shock absorbing member may be fastened between the inner and outer skins. Also, each shock absorbing member may have an outer end which projects forward from a front edge of the inner skin.

Alternatively, the bonnet may comprise an outer skin, each shock absorbing member overlying and being attached to the outer skin of the bonnet. In such a case, each shock absorbing member may be fastened to the outer skin of the bonnet by means of one or more self retaining studs. Alternatively, each shock absorbing member may be fastened to the outer skin of the bonnet by means of adhesive bonding. - 3

Conveniently, each shock absorbing member is made from one of a solid plastics material, a layered shock absorbing plastics material, a plastics honeycomb structure, a plastic shell filled with a foamed plastics material and a plastics shell having an internal cavity.

The invention also provides, according to a second aspect thereof, a motor vehicle having a body structure which includes a passenger compartment, an engine compartment arranged forward of the passenger compartment, a pair of wrap around light units fitted towards the front of the body structure one on each side of the vehicle and a bonnet according to said one aspect of the invention covering the engine compartment.

Preferably, the bonnet is arranged to have at least a front edge thereof automatically raised in the event of the vehicle colliding with a pedestrian.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the remainder of the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig.1 B is a perspective view of a motor vehicle and bonnet according to the invention; Fig.2 is a partially cross-sectioned side view of part of the front of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.1B showing the bonnet both in a normal closed position and in a partially raised position; Fig.3 is an enlarged view of the area 'A' in Fig.2; Fig.4 is a view similar to that of Fig.3 but showing a second embodiment of the invention.

With reference to Figs. 1B to 3 there is shown a motor vehicle 5 having a generally conventional body structure which includes a windscreen 7 arranged in front of a passenger compartment and a bonnet 10 to cover an engine compartment arranged forward of the passenger compartment. - 4

The bonnet 10 is constructed as an outer skin 11 and an inner skin 12 which are fastened together to form the bonnet 10. The bonnet 10 has a front edge 21 extending across a front portion or grille of the vehicle 5, a rear edge 22 positioned adjacent the lower edge of the windscreen 7 and two longitudinal edges joining the front and rear edges 21 and 22. A pair of wrap-around light units 6 are fitted towards the front of the body structure at the front corners, one on each side of the vehicle 5. Each light unit 6 has a curved outer surface 6A which is visible at all times and a relatively flat upper surface 6B which is concealed from view when the bonnet 10 is in a normal closed position as indicated by the dotted outline in Fig.2.

A pair of shock absorbing members 20 is attached to the bonnet 10 at the right hand front and left hand front corners of the bonnet 10, i.e. positioned towards the front of the bonnet one on each side of the vehicle immediately adjacent to and above a respective one of the light units 6. Each shock absorbing member 20 is made from a resilient plastics material and as shown comprises a transparent outer shell filled with a resilient plastics foam. However, it will be appreciated that other constructions could be used such as for example each shock absorbing member could be made from a solid piece of plastics material or could be made from a plastics shell with a hollow cavity. The shock absorbing member has a very good surface finish on its outer surface and is deformable if impacted by a human body part. Each shock absorbing member 20 is shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the adjacent light unit 6 and has light reflecting properties which give the appearance that each light unit and the adjacent shock absorbing member is a single component when the bonnet is in a normal closed position. This is achieved by using a transparent plastics material, as mentioned above, and where necessary, by incorporating reflecting surfaces and refracting formations in the plastics material.

As can best be seen with reference to Fig.3, the shock absorbing member 20 overlies and is fastened to the inner skin 12 of the bonnet 10 and an inner end 23 of the shock absorbing member 20 is fastened between the inner and outer skins 12, 11 of the bonnet - 5 by means of adhesive 13. The shock absorbing member 20 also has an outer end 24 which projects forward from a front edge 25 of the inner skin 12 of the bonnet 10 to ensure that a pedestrian body part cannot directly contact the front edge 25 of the inner skin 12.

The shock absorbing member 20 is also fastened to the inner skin 12 of the bonnet 10 near to its outer end 24 by means of adhesive 14 to ensure that it is securely fastened to the inner skin 12 and cannot become detached if impacted against by a body part.

When the bonnet 10 is in use and in a normal closed position, each shock absorbing member 20 overlies and conceals from view the upper surface 6B of the adjacent light unit 6, each shock absorbing member 20 giving the appearance that each light unit 6 and the adjacent shock absorbing member 20 is a single component as previously stated.

When, in the event of a collision, the bonnet 10 is moved to a partially raised position, as indicated by the solid outline- on Fig.2, each shock absorbing member 20 remains positioned above the adjacent light unit 6 but with a small gap corresponding to the partial raising of the bonnet 10. In this condition, the shock absorbing member 20 can prevent contact between a body part -of a pedestrian and the upper surface 6B of the light unit if the pedestrian falls onto the bonnet 10. Furthermore, the outer end 24 of each shock absorbing member 20 prevents direct contact between the pedestrian and the front edge of the inner skin 12. The shock absorbing member 20 will bend and/ or be crushed by such an impact to absorb energy and in addition the inner skin 12 can bend to absorb further energy.

The presence of the shock absorbing members 20 reduces the gap between the partially raised bonnet 10 and the light units 6 and reduces the risk of the head of a pedestrian entering the gap between the partially raised bonnet 10 and the upper surface 6B of the light units 6. - 6

With particular reference to Fig.4 there is shown a second embodiment of the invention which is in most respects the same as that already described and is intended to be a direct alternative.

As before, a pair of shock absorbing members 120 is attached to the bonnet 10 at the right hand front and left hand front corners of the bonnet 10. Each shock absorbing member 120 is shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the adjacent light unit 6 and has light reflecting properties which give the appearance that each light unit and the adjacent shock absorbing member is a single component when the bonnet is in a normal closed position. Each shock absorbing member 120 is made from a layered crushable material having a transparent outer layer with a good surface finish. However, other constructions or materials could be used so long as the plastic shock absorbing material has a very good surface finish on its visible surface and, if impacted against by a human body part, is deformable.

Each shock absorbing member 120 overlies and is fastened to the outer skin 11 of the bonnet 10, having an inner end 123 which abuts a step in the outer skin 11 of the bonnet 10. A number of self-retaining studs in the form of projections 114 with fir tree formations are provided to enable the shock absorbing member 120 to be pushed onto the outer skin 11 of the bonnet 10 and retained by the sprag effect of the fir tree formations. It will however be appreciated that plain studs could be used with spragging clips held in apertures in the bonnet. Other fastening means could be also be used, e.g. adhesive bonding. The shock absorbing member 120 also has an outer end 124 which projects forward from the front edge 21 of the bonnet 10 to ensure that a pedestrian body part cannot directly contact the front edge 21 of the bonnet 10. The outer skin 11 is rolled over the inner skin 12 to form a clinched joint joining the outer and inner skins 11 and 12 together.

When the bonnet 10 is in use and in a normal closed position, each shock absorbing member 120 overlies and conceals from view the upper surface 6B of the adjacent light unit 6. The outer end 124 of each shock absorbing member 120 is shaped to correspond to the outer surface 6A of the adjacent light unit 6 to give the appearance that each light unit 6 and the adjacent shock absorbing member 120 is a single component when the bonnet 10 is in this normal closed position.

When, in the event of a collision, the bonnet 10 is moved to a partially raised position, each shock absorbing member 120 remains positioned above the adjacent light unit 6 so that it can prevent contact between a pedestrian body part and the upper surface 6B of the light unit, the outer end 124 of each shock absorbing member 120 preventing direct contact between the pedestrian and the front edge 21 of the bonnet 10.

The nature of the material from which the shock absorbing member 120 is made will ensure that, when impacted against by a body part, it is crushed to absorb energy and provide a softer impact but in addition the outer skin 11 to which it is attached will be deformed to further absorb energy.

Although the invention has been described with reference a bonnet which is released into a partially raised position when an impact is detected, the shock absorbing members would still be useful on bonnets of vehicles which do not have this feature since they help to provide shock absorption in an area where the lights themselves can reduce the impact absorption properties of the adjacent bodywork. - 8

Claims

1. A bonnet for a motor vehicle having a body structure which includes a passenger compartment, an engine compartment arranged forward of the passenger compartment and a pair of wrap around light units fitted towards the front of the body structure one on each side of the vehicle, the bonnet being in use arranged to cover the engine compartment when in a normally closed position and to provide access to the engine compartment when in a lifted or open position, wherein a pair of shock absorbing members are fitted to the bonnet such that in use of the vehicle the shock absorbing members are positioned towards the front of the bonnet one on each side of the vehicle immediately adjacent to and above a respective one of the light units, each shock absorbing member being shaped to correspond to the outer surface of the adjacent light unit and having light reflecting properties to give the appearance that each light und and the adjacent shock absorbing member is a single component when the bonnet is in the closed position.

2. A bonnet as claimed in claim 1, the bonnet comprising an inner skin and an outer skin which is fastened to the inner skin, wherein each shock absorbing member overlies and is fastened to the inner skin.

3. A bonnet as claimed in claim 2 wherein an inner end of each shock absorbing member is fastened between the inner and outer skins.

4. A bonnet as claimed in claim 2 or in claim 3 wherein each shock absorbing member has an outer end which projects forward from a front edge of the inner skin.

5. A bonnet as claimed in claim 1, the bonnet comprising an outer skin, wherein each shock absorbing member overlies and is attached to the outer skin of the bonnet.

6. A bonnet as claimed in claim 5 wherein each shock absorbing member is fastened to the outer skin of the bonnet by means of one or more self retaining studs. - 9 -

7. A bonnet as claimed in claim 5 wherein each shock absorbing member is fastened to the outer skin of the bonnet by means of adhesive bonding.

8. A bonnet as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each shock absorbing member is made from one of a solid plastics material, a layered shock absorbing plastics material, a plastics honeycomb structure, a plastic shell filled with a foamed plastics material and a plastics shell having an internal cavity.

9. A motor vehicle having a body structure which includes a passenger compartment, an engine compartment arranged forward of the passenger compartment, a pair of wrap around light units fitted towards the front of the body structure one on each side of the vehicle and a bonnet as claimed in any preceding claim covering the engine compartment.

10. A motor vehicle as claimed in claim 9 wherein the bonnet is arranged to have at least a front edge thereof automatically raised in the event of the vehicle colliding with a pedestrian.

11. A motor vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to Fig.1B and Figs.2-4 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A motor vehicle bonnet substantially as described herein with reference to Fig.1B and Figs.2-4 of the accompanying drawings.