US-12617468-B2 - Vehicle front structure

US12617468B2US 12617468 B2US12617468 B2US 12617468B2US-12617468-B2

Abstract

A vehicle front structure includes: an upper beam to which a headlight is fixed; a bracket installed side by side with the upper beam and formed to extend outward in a vehicle width direction from one end thereof fixed to a bulkhead of a vehicle, curve rearward at a point halfway to an outer end in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and extend rearward to the other end thereof fixed to a lower member of the vehicle; and an airbag sensor provided on the bracket.

Inventors

Akihiro Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Ito

Assignees

HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240213
Priority Date: 20230215

Claims (7)

1 . A vehicle front structure comprising: an upper beam to which a headlight is fixed; a bracket installed side by side with the upper beam and formed to extend outward in a vehicle width direction from one end thereof fixed to a bulkhead of a vehicle, curve rearward at a point halfway to an outer end in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and extend rearward to the other end thereof fixed to a lower member of the vehicle; and an airbag sensor provided on the bracket.
2 . The vehicle front structure according to claim 1 , wherein the bracket is configured to have a first bracket and a second bracket joined to each other.
3 . The vehicle front structure according to claim 2 , wherein the bracket includes: the first bracket extending in parallel to the vehicle width direction; and the second bracket joined to the first bracket and extending rearward in a vehicle front-rear direction from a connection with the first bracket.
4 . The vehicle front structure according to claim 2 , wherein the second bracket is weaker than the first bracket.
5 . The vehicle front structure according to claim 4 , wherein the second bracket is formed in an arch shape in a lateral view.
6 . The vehicle front structure according to claim 2 , wherein the first bracket and the second bracket each have an angled U-shape in cross section.
7 . The vehicle front structure according to claim 2 , wherein the second bracket has a length in the vehicle width direction thereof increased as it extends frontward.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-021410 filed on Feb. 15, 2023, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle front structure. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There has been a vehicle front structure including a bumper support bracket, as a member to receive an initial impact at a vehicle front, made of resin and having an inner support, to which a collision load is inputted, and a frame, to which a headlamp is fixed, integrally molded (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-213185, referred to as Patent Document 1 hereinbelow, for example). The bumper support bracket is attached to a front surface of a radiator side frame on which an airbag sensor is provided. Such a vehicle front structure would have the inner support of the bumper support bracket broken by a tearing stress in early phase of a frontal collision. This allows the vehicle front structure to avoid a noise component being mixed into a G-forces wave, to prevent the airbag sensor from malfunctioning. SUMMARY Problems to be Solved However, there is an interval for a conventional vehicle front structure (see Patent Document 1, for example) until an impact value, when the bumper support bracket has been broken in the event of a frontal collision, is inputted to the airbag sensor on a radiator side frame. This pauses a risk of an airbag having a malfunction, due to aftereffects of the impact after the breakage, to a conventional vehicle front structure. Then, a vehicle front structure is desired that is superior in accuracy of an airbag sensor detecting an impact. The present invention is intended to provide a vehicle front structure that is superior to a conventional one in accuracy of an airbag sensor detecting impact. Solution to Problems A vehicle front structure according to the present invention, to solve the above-identified problems, includes: an upper beam to which a headlight is fixed; a bracket installed side by side with the upper beam and formed to extend outward in a vehicle width direction from one end thereof joined to a bulkhead of a vehicle, curve rearward at a point halfway to an outer end in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle, and extend rearward to the other end thereof fixed to a lower member of the vehicle; and an airbag sensor provided on the bracket. Advantageous Effects of the Invention The present invention provides a vehicle front structure that is superior to a conventional one in accuracy of an airbag sensor detecting impact. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partially-enlarged perspective view of a left section of a vehicle front structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a partially-enlarged front view of the left section of the vehicle front structure in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a partially-enlarged top view of the left section of the vehicle front structure in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a partially-enlarged top view of the left section of the vehicle front structure in FIG. 1, with a headlight and an upper beam removed; FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of a bracket of the vehicle front structure in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the bracket in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a side view of a second bracket of the bracket in FIG. 5; and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view, taken along a line VIII-VIII in FIG. 5. DETAILED DESCRIPTION First Embodiment Next, a description is given in detail of an embodiment of a vehicle front structure according to the present invention, with reference to the drawings as required. Note that front-rear, right-left, and up-down directions are based on arrow directions in FIG. 1 aligned with those of a vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle front structure of the present embodiment is bilaterally symmetrical with respect to a centerline extending in the front-rear direction of a vehicle, and a description is given hereinbelow of only a left section of the vehicle front structure and a detailed description on a right section of the same is omitted. FIG. 1 is a partially-enlarged perspective view of a left section of a vehicle front structure 10 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially-enlarged front view of the left section of the vehicle front structure 10 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partially-enlarged top view of the left section of the vehicle front structure 10 in FIG. 1. Note that a headlight 8 in FIG. 3 is shown with an imaginary line (dash-dot-dot line) for the purpose of illustration. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle front structure 10 includes the headlight 8, an upper beam 4 to which the headlight 8 is fixed, and a bracket 1 to which an airbag sensor 8 is attached. The headlight 8 of the present embodiment is formed horizontally long and arranged above a bumper beam extension 9b at a front corner of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, an inner end in a