ENERGY ABSORBER WITH FIXED ANGLED FINS
An energy absorbing system includes a carrier having a wall extending along a longitudinal axis. The energy absorber has a first leg and a second leg extending in a first direction away from the wall. A plurality of fins are fixed to and extend from the wall in the first direction, at approximately 60 to 65 degrees relative to the wall.
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Bumper assemblies for vehicles may have a stiffness determined by the material and structure of the assembly. The desired stiffness of the bumper assembly may be different depending on vehicle speed. For example, at a low vehicle speed, a higher stiffness may be desired to prevent damage to the vehicle. At a high vehicle speed, a lower stiffness may be desired to absorb energy during a pedestrian impact.
Vehicle research organizations release test protocols and standards for vehicles directed to specific outcomes. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) releases the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), including Part 581, which describes impact test protocols for low speed damageability (“LSD”) of vehicle bumper systems. The test measures damage to a vehicle at low speeds. As another example, the Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) releases Global Technical Regulations (GTR), including GTR 9, which measures pedestrian protection. Specifically, the test measures impact on legs of a pedestrian during a front-end vehicle impact, e.g., at speeds greater than 30 KPH. The requirements for LSD and pedestrian protection may result in competing, and counteractive, design concerns.
There remains an opportunity to design a vehicle bumper assembly that accounts for both low speed damageability and pedestrian impact.
With reference to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, a bumper assembly 12 for a vehicle 10 includes a bumper beam 14 and an energy absorber 16. The energy absorber 16 is mounted to the bumper beam 14. As shown in
The energy absorber 16 includes a carrier 18 and fins 28. As shown in
When the energy absorber 16 is mounted to the bumper beam 14 of the vehicle 10, the energy absorber 16 extends between the bumper beam 14 and the fascia 30, and the fins 28 extend from the wall 22 toward the bumper beam 14. As set forth further below, the extension of the fins 28 from the wall at the positive angle A1 and/or the negative angle A2 between approximately 60-65 degrees relative to the wall 22 encourages the fins 28 to transfer force from the fascia 30 to the bumper beam 14 with no deformation, and/or minimal deformation, of the fins 28 to reinforce the fascia 30 of the vehicle 10 during a low-speed damageability test, such as FMVSS Part 581. In addition, the extension of the fins 28 from the wall at the positive angle A1 and/or the negative angle A2 between approximately 60-65 degrees relative to the wall 22 encourages the fins to deform and/or break away from the wall 22 to absorb energy during a pedestrian impact test, such as Euro NCAP or GTR 9, which allows the fascia 30 to deform and absorb energy.
The bumper assembly 12 in
The bumper beam 14 may be supported on a frame (not shown) of the vehicle 10 in any suitable way. For example, crush cans (not shown) may be mounted to the frame of the vehicle 10 at a first end of the crush cans, with a second end of the crush cans connected to the bumper beam 14. Alternatively, the bumper beam 14 may be mounted directly to the frame of the vehicle 10 in any suitable way.
As shown in
With continued reference to
The fascia 30 may be affixed to the energy absorber 16 in any suitable manner. For example, the fascia 30 may be affixed to the wall 22 of the carrier 18 using low-density foam or the like to allow the fascia 30 to maintain a desired shape. Alternatively or additionally, fasteners of any suitable type may affix the fascia 30 to the energy absorber 16, or to other structures of the vehicle 10, such as the frame.
During a vehicle impact, the fascia 30 may contact an object, absorbing energy from the object. The fascia 30 may be flexible and/or brittle relative to the bumper assembly 12. The fascia 30 may be constructed of any suitable material, e.g., a metal, a polymer (e.g., a plastic), a composite, and the like.
As discussed above, the energy absorber 16 extends along the longitudinal axis L, with the two ends 20 spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis L. The carrier 18, including the wall 22, the first leg 24 and the second leg 26, may be curvilinear to a tangent at a longitudinal center of the carrier 18, as shown in
With continued reference to
With reference to
The first leg 24 and the second leg 26 may be fixed to the wall 22. The wall 22, the first leg 24, and the second leg 26 may be integral, i.e., formed together simultaneously as a single, continuous unit. For example, the wall 22, the first leg 24, and the second leg 26 may be simultaneously molded together, e.g., by injection molding. Alternatively, the wall 22, the first leg 24, and/or the second leg 26 may be separately formed, and subsequently fixed together in any suitable way, e.g., using adhesives, fasteners, fusing, welding, etc. The wall 22, the first leg 24, and the second leg 26 may be formed from any suitable material including plastic, a composite, etc. The wall 22, the first leg 24, and the second leg 26 may be formed from the same or from dissimilar materials.
As shown in
The wall 22 of the carrier 18 is in a vehicle-forward direction relative to the bumper beam 14 when, as shown in
As shown in
The fins 28 are spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis L. The fins 28 may be formed of plastic, composites, etc.
The carrier 18 shown in
The fins 28 may be integral with the wall 22, the first leg 24, and/or the second leg 26, i.e., formed together simultaneously as a single, continuous unit. For example, the fins 28 may be simultaneously molded with the wall 22, the first leg 24, and/or the second leg 26, e.g., by injection molding. Alternatively, the fins 28 may be separately formed from the wall 22, the first leg 24, and/or the second leg 26, and subsequently fixed to the wall 22, the first leg 24, and/or the second leg 26 in any suitable way, e.g., using adhesives, fasteners, fusing, welding, etc. The fins 28 may be formed from any suitable material including plastic, a composite, etc. The fins 28 may be formed from the same or from dissimilar materials as the wall 22, the first leg 24 and/or the second leg 26.
As shown in
The first plurality 48 and the second plurality 50 of fins 28 may meet at a center of the carrier 18. The fins 28 of the first plurality 48 and the fins 28 of the second plurality 50 may angle from the wall 22 away from center of the carrier 18.
With reference to
In
As used herein, the adverb “substantially” modifying an adjective means that a shape, structure, measurement, etc. may deviate from an exact described geometry, distance, measurement, etc., because of imperfections in materials, machining, manufacturing, etc.
The disclosure has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology which has been used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings, and the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
Claims
1. A bumper assembly, comprising:
- a bumper beam extending along a longitudinal axis;
- a carrier mounted to the bumper beam, the carrier having a wall spaced from the bumper beam and extending along the longitudinal axis;
- a plurality of fins fixed to the carrier and spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis;
- wherein each fin extends from the wall toward the bumper beam at an angle between approximately 60-65 degrees relative to the wall; and
- the carrier having a first leg and a second leg spaced from each other and each extending from the wall toward the bumper beam, the fins disposed between the first leg and the second leg.
2. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the fins are fixed to the wall.
3. (canceled)
4. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the fins taper away from the first leg and the second leg in a direction toward the bumper beam.
5. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the fins are fixed to the first leg and to second leg at the wall.
6. The bumper assembly of claim 5, wherein the fins taper away from the first leg and the second leg in a direction toward the bumper beam.
7. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the wall, the first leg, the second leg, and the fins are integral with each other.
8. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the wall and the fins are integral to each other.
9. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the first leg, the second leg, and the fins abut the bumper beam.
10. The bumper assembly of claim 1, wherein the fins abut the bumper beam.
11. The bumper assembly of claim 1, further comprising a second plurality of fins fixed to the wall and spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis, and extending from the wall toward the bumper beam at a second angle between approximately 60-65 degrees relative to the wall, the angle of the plurality of fins being measured in a positive direction and the second angle of the second plurality of fins being measured in a negative direction.
12. The bumper assembly of claim 1, further comprising a fascia, with the carrier between the fascia and the bumper beam.
13. An energy absorber, comprising:
- a carrier including a wall extending along a longitudinal axis and having a first leg and a second leg spaced from each other and extending in a first direction away from the wall;
- a plurality of fins spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis, each fin being fixed to the carrier, the fins disposed between the first leg and the second leg;
- wherein each fin extends from the wall in the first direction at between approximately 60-65 degrees relative to the wall.
14. The energy absorber of claim 13, wherein the fins are fixed to the wall.
15. The energy absorber of claim 13, wherein the fins are fixed to the first leg and to the second leg at the wall.
16. The energy absorber of claim 15, wherein the fins taper away from the first leg and the second leg in the first direction.
17. The energy absorber of claim 13, wherein the wall, the first leg, the second leg, and the fins are integral with each other.
18. The energy absorber of claim 13, wherein the wall and the fins are integral with each other.
19. The energy absorber of claim 13, further comprising a second plurality of fins fixed to the wall and spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis, and extending from the wall in the first direction at a second angle between approximately 60-65 degrees relative to the wall, the angle of the plurality of fins being measured in a positive direction and the second angle of the second plurality of fins being measured in a negative direction.
Type: Application
Filed: May 19, 2016
Publication Date: Nov 23, 2017
Applicant: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Dearborn, MI)
Inventors: James Chih Cheng (Troy, MI), Srinivasan Sundararajan (Ann Arbor, MI), S.M. Iskander Farooq (Novi, MI), Nirmal Muralidharan (Birmingham, MI), Mohammed Omar Faruque (Ann Arbor, MI), Dean M. Jaradi (Macomb, MI)
Application Number: 15/159,758