JP2003267167A - Bumper - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the detection of a pressure sensitive switch 10 excellent by collecting the force received by an absorbing material 20 in the pressure sensitive switch 10 without dispersing the force, and also by collecting the force in the pressure-sensitive switch 10, even when the direction of the force received by the absorbing material 20 is different. <P>SOLUTION: This bumper is constituted of the absorbing material 20 mounted on a vehicle body B and absorbing shock on a vehicle body and the pressure sensitive switch 10 detecting the shock via the absorbing material 20. In the absorbing material 20, at least two gaps 21 are formed to face each other in sectional view and the interval of the gaps 21 facing each other is gradually reduced from a surface side of the absorbing material 10 receiving the shock toward the pressure sensitive switch 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bumper attached to a vehicle body for absorbing impact on the vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cargo handling vehicle, manned or unmanned, is provided with a bumper for absorbing an impact caused by contact with an obstacle or a worker. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a bumper 54 in which an absorbent material 52 made of a solid elastic body is attached to a base metal fitting 51 attached to a vehicle body B with a pressure sensitive switch 53 interposed is used. When the bumper 54 and the obstacle come into contact with each other and the pressure-sensitive switch 53 detects the impact due to the contact through the absorber 52, the cargo handling vehicle is controlled to stop traveling.

[0003]

When the absorbent material is solid, the shocks received are dispersed before being transmitted to the pressure-sensitive switch, so that the pressure-sensitive switch is not concentrated and transmitted, and cannot be detected well. There was a problem. Also, if it is solid, the direction in which the force is transmitted changes depending on the contact direction with the obstacle, and the force is not transmitted to the pressure sensitive switch pinpointly,
There is also a problem that good detection cannot be performed.

Therefore, in the present invention, the force received by the absorber can be collected in the pressure-sensitive switch without being dispersed, and the detection of the pressure-sensitive switch can be made excellent, and the direction of the force received by the absorber is different. Even in that case, collect that power in the pressure sensitive switch,
An object of the present invention is to provide a pumper capable of excellent detection of a pressure sensitive switch.

[0005]

A bumper according to the present invention comprises an absorber mounted on a vehicle body for absorbing an impact on the vehicle body, and a pressure sensitive switch for detecting the impact via the absorber. The absorbent material is characterized in that at least two voids are formed so as to face each other in a cross-sectional view, and the distance between the facing voids is gradually reduced from the surface of the absorbent material that receives an impact toward the pressure-sensitive switch.

According to the above structure, the force received by the absorber is
The pressure-sensitive switch gathers in such a manner that it is guided from the surface side of the absorbent material toward the pressure-sensitive switch through the gradually decreasing absorbent material portion, and the pressure-sensitive switch can be detected well. Also,
When an obstacle comes into contact with the bumper, the direction of the force applied to the absorbent material differs depending on the contact angle, but even if the direction of the force received by this absorbent material is different, that force is applied from the surface side of the absorbent material. The pressure-sensitive switch can be satisfactorily detected by being directed toward the pressure-sensitive switch so that the pressure-sensitive switch is guided through the gradually decreasing absorbent portion.

That is, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned facing gaps are formed, and the gaps between the facing gaps are gradually reduced from the surface of the absorber that receives an impact toward the pressure-sensitive switch. The material portion plays a role of a force transmission path, and the force applied to the surface side of the absorbent material can be collected in the pressure sensitive switch. Not only that, but also because the formed voids crush the absorbent material, it is possible to absorb the shock at an early stage and prevent an excessive force from being applied to the pressure-sensitive switch.

That is, the present invention is not limited to merely providing the voids in the absorbent material, but is also characterized in how the voids are formed inside the absorbent material. Is what you get.

In addition, the present invention particularly includes the above two voids,
Each of them is formed into a substantially right triangular shape, the side facing each other is a hypotenuse, and the side on the pressure-sensitive switch side is a bottom side, thereby forming an absorbing material portion which becomes gradually smaller toward the pressure-sensitive switch. It is possible to secure a proper size of the void and the meat portion of the absorbent material so as to function as a shock absorbing material as a whole, and to provide a bumper that transmits the force to the pressure-sensitive switch satisfactorily. Furthermore, since the void area on the surface side of the absorbent material becomes smaller, the meat portion of the absorbent material on this surface side is secured, and the absorbent material is bent and deformed regardless of the direction in which the absorbent material receives a force. It is possible to reliably receive and absorb the force, and to transmit part of the force to the pressure-sensitive switch satisfactorily.

Further, by contacting the pressure sensitive switch with a plate having a hardness higher than that of the absorbent material and receiving an impact from the surface side of the absorbent material, it is transmitted to the vicinity of the pressure sensitive switch. The plate receives the force and presses the pressure sensitive switch. At this time, since the plate is higher than the absorber, the pressure sensitive switch is pressed by the entire plate, and the force is satisfactorily transmitted to the pressure sensitive switch attached to the plate. As a result, it is possible to detect with the pressure sensitive switch with higher sensitivity.

According to the present invention, when the vehicle body contacts an obstacle, the contact can be immediately detected and the vehicle body can be stopped by favorably detecting the pressure sensitive switch. In particular, considering the case where the present invention is applied to an automated guided vehicle,
The automated guided vehicle is always traveling while detecting obstacles. This is because if the vehicle comes into contact with an obstacle, the vehicle or the opponent will be damaged unless the vehicle is stopped immediately. In addition, if the opponent is a human being, the necessity of a sudden stop becomes important. However, if the accuracy of detection by the pumper is poor, the vehicle body cannot be stopped immediately and an unexpected accident may occur. The present invention was also devised to improve such a situation, by improving the detection accuracy of the pressure sensitive switch, when the vehicle body contacts an obstacle, immediately stop the vehicle body, Prevents damage to the contact partner and ensures safety.

As the pressure sensitive switch, a cable switch which can normally operate in a high temperature / low temperature atmosphere can be used.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings.

That is, the bumper A according to the present invention is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a base metal fitting 1 attached to a desired position of the vehicle body B, a strip-shaped channel 6 attached to the base metal fitting 1, a strip-shaped pressure sensitive switch 10 fitted into the channel 6, the channel 6 and the Pressure sensitive switch 1
Absorbing material 2 attached to the base metal fitting 1 so as to cover 0
0, and a strip-shaped plate 30 between the pressure-sensitive switch 10 and the absorber 20. Absorbent 2
No. 0 has two substantially right-angled triangular voids in which the hypotenuse faces outwardly in cross section and one side other than the hypotenuse is arranged on the pressure sensitive switch side in the approximate center.

ON / OFF of the pressure sensitive switch 10 is
It is connected to a traveling control device that controls traveling of the vehicle body B. As shown in FIG. 6, the pressure sensitive switch 10 may be, for example, a cable switch formed by combining a conductive rubber and a conductive wire in a switch element and energized by applying pressure.

The base metal fitting 1 is, as shown in FIG.
For example, it is a metal band-shaped body having a substantially concave cross-section, and a plurality of mounting holes 4 are provided at predetermined locations on the bottom portion 3 of the recess 2 and an outer edge portion 5 is provided outside the upper end of the recess 2.

The channel 6 is, as shown in FIG.
For example, it is a synthetic rubber band-shaped body having a substantially concave shape in cross-section, and is provided with two protrusions 8 in the concave portion 7, and both side wall portions 9 of the concave portion are provided in a slightly curved shape inward.

As shown in FIG. 2, the absorbent member 20 is a band-shaped body, and has two voids 21 each having a substantially right-angled triangle in cross section at the substantially center thereof, and a band-shaped interior at the inner center of the mounting end 24. A portion 25 is provided, a fitting insertion portion 26 is provided on the front end side of the interior portion 25, and mounting grooves 28 are provided on both inner vertical walls 27 of the interior portion 25. In the void 21, the hypotenuses 22 of the substantially right triangle in cross section are opposed to each other, and the other side 23 other than the hypotenuse 22 of the triangle is provided to the pressure sensor 10.
It is arranged to be on the side.

Vehicle body B to which the bumper A as described above is attached
When the bumper A collides with an obstacle or a worker while the vehicle is traveling, the absorber 20 contracts toward the vehicle body due to the collision. As the absorbent 20 contracts, pressure is applied to the pressure sensitive switch 10 to energize it. Then, the traveling control device that controls traveling of the vehicle body B stops traveling of the vehicle body B.

Since the braking distance of the vehicle body differs depending on the vehicle type, it is preferable to select the material of the absorber 20 according to the braking distance of the vehicle type. This is because the deformation stroke of the absorbent 20 depends on the hardness.

For example, when the bumper A is used for an automatic guided vehicle of a cargo handling vehicle, the absorber 20 has a hardness of 3
It is preferable to use a synthetic rubber having a hardness of 5 to 45 degrees or an elastic body having a hardness of 35 to 45 degrees. This is because the braking distance of a general automated guided vehicle is around 35 mm, so that the absorbent member 20 can shrink around 35 mm before and after the pressure sensitive switch 10 detects an impact and the vehicle B stops. This is because.

Further, by providing the voids 21, even if the hardness of the absorbent 20 is high, the absorbent 20 can hold a large deformation stroke. Absorbent material 20 with high hardness
By using the height of the absorbent 20 (thickness in the vertical direction)
Even if it is about 50 mm, it does not hang down by its own weight.

Further, by using a material such as synthetic rubber made by extrusion molding as the material of the absorber 20, the absorbent material 20 is cut to a desired length and used according to the size of the vehicle body and the portion to be used. Is something that can be done. Therefore, at the time of manufacturing the absorbent material 20, it is not necessary to prepare a mold according to the size of the absorbent material 20, so that the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

The gap 21 is formed by the pressure sensitive switch 1
This is to secure the deformation stroke and increase the impact absorbing power while maintaining the pressure-sensitive accuracy of 0 at a certain level or higher. The size of the bumper main body 20 and the hardness of the material are in balance. It may be determined in consideration of the conditions and is not particularly limited.

The material of the plate 30 is a flexible material such as a hard synthetic resin, and the plate 30 is fitted into the fitting portion 26 of the absorbent 20 and brought into contact with the tip of the recess 7 of the channel 6. Due to the plate 30, the pressure-sensitive accuracy of the pressure-sensitive sensor 13 does not depend on the direction in which the force of impact is received.

The vehicle body B can be used for a manned cargo carrier, an unmanned cargo carrier, and other vehicles.

Next, a method of assembling the bumper A of the present invention will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the base metal fitting 1 is attached to the rear portion of the vehicle body B with screws 15.

The channel 6 having the double-sided tape attached is fitted into the concave portion 2 of the base metal fitting 1 and temporarily fixed,
A screw hole (not shown) is bored between the both protrusions 8 of the channel 6, and a screw 16 having a washer is inserted into the screw hole and attached to the base metal fitting 1 to obtain the state shown in FIG.

The cable switch 10 is mounted in the recess 7 of the channel 6 and fixed with an adhesive to obtain the state shown in FIG. Needless to say, at this time, the cable switch 10 is connected to the traveling control device (not shown) of the vehicle body B.

The plate 30 is attached to the fitting insertion portion 26 of the absorber 20.

At both outer edge portions 5 at one end of the base metal fitting 1,
The bumper body 20 is slid along the outer edge portion 5 by fitting the both mounting grooves 28 at one end of the absorber 20 with the plate 30 attached thereto.
0 is attached to the base metal fitting 1, the assembly is completed in the state shown in FIG. 1, and the state shown in FIG. 8 is used.

Although the bumper A is attached to the front portion of the vehicle body B in the above embodiment, the bumper A may be attached to and used at any of the front portion, the rear corner portion, the side portion and the like of the vehicle body. The mounting position of the bumper A is not particularly limited.

In the above embodiment, the plate 30 is arranged between the pressure sensitive switch 10 and the absorber 20, but the plate 30 is arranged between the pressure sensitive switch 10 and the absorber 20.
To ensure that the pressure-sensitive switch 10 operates properly, as shown in FIG. 7, the insertion portion of the absorbent material 20 is omitted, and the absorbent material 20 is directly contacted with the upper end of the recess 7 of the channel 6 to The plate 30 may be omitted.

In the above embodiment, the cable switch is used as the pressure sensitive switch 10. However, the switch used as the pressure sensitive switch 10 is a strip-shaped switch that operates properly in low temperature and high temperature environments. Well, it is not particularly limited.

In the above embodiment, the base metal fitting 1 and the channel 6 are attached to the vehicle body B with the screws 16, but
The method and means for attaching the base fitting 1 and the channel 6 are not particularly limited.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, in the bumper according to the present invention, the force received by the absorbing material is conducted through the absorbing material portion that gradually decreases from the surface side of the absorbing material toward the pressure sensitive switch. As described above, the pressure sensitive switches can be gathered together, and the detection of the pressure sensitive switches can be improved. Also, when an obstacle comes into contact with the bumper, the direction of the force applied to the absorbent material differs depending on the contact angle, but even if the direction of the force received by this absorbent material is different, that force is applied from the surface side of the absorbent material. The pressure-sensitive switch can be satisfactorily detected by being directed toward the pressure-sensitive switch so that the pressure-sensitive switch is guided through the gradually decreasing absorbent portion.

The present invention satisfactorily detects the pressure-sensitive switch, so that when the vehicle body comes into contact with an obstacle, this contact can be immediately detected and the vehicle body can be stopped. You can prevent damage to the other party and ensure safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a bumper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a bumper body according to the bumper of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially omitted explanatory perspective view of a channel according to the bumper of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional explanatory view showing a procedure for assembling the bumper of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional explanatory view showing a procedure for assembling the bumper of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view for explaining a bumper assembling procedure according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a bumper showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory perspective view of the vehicle body showing a usage state of the bumper according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory sectional view showing a conventional bumper.

[Explanation of symbols]

A bumper B body 1 base metal fittings 6 channels 10 Pressure sensitive switch 20 absorber 21 void 22 hypotenuse 23 bottom 30 plates

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A bumper, which is mounted on a vehicle body and which absorbs an impact on the vehicle body, and a pressure-sensitive switch which detects the impact through the absorber, wherein the absorber is viewed in cross section. A bumper, wherein at least two air gaps are formed so as to face each other, and an interval between the air gaps facing each other is gradually reduced from the surface of the absorber that receives an impact toward the pressure sensitive switch. 2. The two voids are each formed in a substantially right-angled triangular shape, the sides facing each other are oblique sides, and the sides on the pressure-sensitive switch side are bottom sides. Bumper described in. 3. The pressure sensitive switch is in contact with a plate having a hardness higher than that of the absorbent material and receiving a shock from the surface side of the absorbent material. The bumper according to claim 2. 4. The bumper according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pressure sensitive switch is a cable switch. 5. The bumper according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body is an automated guided vehicle.