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US 10,308,200 B2Granted
Method and apparatus for attaching push bars
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsMahmoud Yousef Ghannam, Swadad A. Carremm, John W. Jensen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle includes a body structure, a push bar, and a damper connecting the push bar to the body structure. The damper includes a base and a rod that are movable relative to each other. The rod is attached to one of the push bar and the body structure, and the base is attached to the other of the push bar and the body structure. The damper is controllable to adjust a damping ratio of the damper and/or adjust a resting position of the rod relative to the base to axially move the push bar.
Claims20
A vehicle comprising:
- a body structure;
- a push bar;
- and
- a damper including a base and a rod movable relative to each other, the damper being interposed between the body structure and the push bar with the rod attached to one of the push bar and the body structure and the base attached to the other of the push bar and the body structure, wherein the damper has a variable damping ratio, and is controllable, in response to a pushing mode being requested, to increase the damping ratio of the damper and increase a resting position of the rod relative to the base to axially move the push bar away from the body structure.
1 more element
A vehicle comprising:
- a body structure;
- a push bar;
- a damper connecting the push bar to the body structure and having a selectable damping ratio;
- and
- a controller configured to
- in response to a collision being detected, set the damping ratio to a first magnitude, and
- in response to a request for pushing mode, set the damping ratio to a second magnitude that is greater than the first magnitude.
4 more elements
A vehicle comprising:
- a body structure including a front bumper beam supporting a bumper shell that defines at least a portion of a front fascia of the vehicle;
- a push bar supported in front of the front facia;
- a pair of dampers laterally spaced from each other and connecting the push bar to the bumper beam;
- and
- a controller configured to default a damping ratio of each of the dampers to a first magnitude and, in response to a request for pushing mode, set the damping ratio of each of the dampers to a second magnitude that is greater than the first magnitude.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.