Technical Field
The present invention relates to a pedestrian collision detection sensor-equipped vehicle bumper structure.
Related Art
In a pedestrian collision detection sensor-equipped vehicle bumper structure described in Japanese National-Phase Publication No. 2014-505629, an absorber is disposed adjacent to a vehicle front side of bumper reinforcement. A groove portion open toward the vehicle rear side is formed in the absorber, and a pressure tube is retained inside the groove portion. In a collision between the vehicle and a colliding body, the absorber presses the pressure tube due to collision load toward the vehicle rear side, and the pressure tube is deformed. Pressure sensors provided at both length direction end portions of the pressure tube accordingly output signals according to a change in pressure in the pressure tube, and an ECU determines whether or not the body colliding with the vehicle is a pedestrian. Note that Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2012-056452 also describes a pedestrian collision detection sensor-equipped vehicle bumper structure.
However, there is room for improvement of the above pedestrian collision detection sensor-equipped vehicle bumper structures regarding the below points. Namely, in cases in which a colliding body has hit a bumper cover further toward the vehicle width direction outside than the bumper reinforcement, for example, there is a possibility that bending of the bumper cover originates in the vicinity of a vehicle width direction outside end of the bumper reinforcement, and so collision load input to the pressure tube is reduced. In such cases, good pressing of the pressure tube cannot be achieved. Thus, it is desirable to provide a pedestrian collision detection sensor-equipped vehicle bumper structure that has a structure in which good pressing of the pressure tube can be achieved in a collision at a vehicle width direction outside portion of the bumper cover.