Abstract: A vehicle front-end stiffener includes a hinge bracket pivotally coupled to a support bracket. The hinge bracket supports a stiffener beam. A spring engages the support bracket and the hinge bracket biasing the stiffener beam in a deployed position. A moving element in a locking mechanism can retractably interlock the hinge bracket when a vehicle exceeds a threshold speed to maintain the stiffener beam in the deployed position.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 26, 2016
Date of Patent:
November 21, 2017
Assignee:
Ford Global Technologies, LLC
Inventors:
S. M. Iskander Farooq, Srinivasan Sundararajan, James Chih Cheng, Mohammed Omar Faruque, Dean M. Jaradi