Automotive vehicle bumper assembly

A bumper assembly for an automotive vehicle comprising:

• a pair of crush caps adapted for attachment to longitudinal ends of a pair of generally parallel, longitudinally extending vehicle body support members, each of the crush caps having an outward facing impact surface on a first end thereof, an open end with an attachment flange extending therefrom on a second end thereof, and a plurality of stepped crush sections thereinbetween increasing in peripheral size from the first end to the second end;
• a bumper member adapted for attachment to the pair of body support members so as to extend generally laterally therebetween encasing the pair of crush caps therein, the bumper member solely having:
• an outward facing surface with an outer crush groove extending laterally generally along the bumper member and having an inner crush initiating surface spaced a predetermined distance from and substantially parallel to the impact surface of each of the pair of crush caps;
• an upper surface with a generally laterally extending upper crush groove;
• a lower surface with a generally laterally extending lower crush groove;
• and;
• an inward facing surface;
• and
• a bumper fascia adapted to be mounted to the vehicle over the bumper member.

A bumper assembly for an automotive vehicle having a pair of generally parallel, longitudinally extending vehicle body support members, the bumper assembly comprising:

• a pair of crush caps adapted for attachment to longitudinal ends of body support members, each of the crush caps having an outward facing impact surface on a first end thereof, an open end with an attachment flange extending therefrom on a second end thereof, and a plurality of stepped crush sections thereinbetween increasing in peripheral size from the first end of the second end;
• a bumper member adapted for attachment to the pair of body support members so as to extend generally laterally therebetween encasing the pair of crush caps therein, the bumper member solely having:
• an outward facing wall with an outer crush groove extending laterally generally along the bumper member, the outer crush groove having an inner crush initiating surface spaced a predetermined distance from and substantially parallel to the outward facing impact surface of each of the pair of crush caps;
• an upper wall with a generally laterally extending upper crush groove;
• a lower wall with a generally laterally extending lower crush groove;
• and;
• an inward facing wall;
• a bumper fascia adapted to be mounted to the vehicle over the bumper member;
• and
• wherein the upper and lower crush grooves deform when the bumper assembly is impacted by a force below a first predetermined impact level and the crush initiating surface of the bumper member move toward the outward facing impact surface of a least one of the pair of crush caps but does not deform said at least one of the crush caps so as to provide a first level of controlled energy absorption;
• wherein the upper and lower crush grooves deform and the crush initiating surface of the bumper member contacts the outward facing impact surface of at least one of the pair of crush caps when the bumper assembly is impacted by a force between said first predetermined impact level and a second predetermined impact level deforming said at least one of the crush caps so as to provide a second level of controlled energy absorption;
• and
• wherein the upper and lower crush grooves deform, the crush initiating surface of the bumper member contracts the outward facing impact surface of at least one of the pair of crush caps deforming said at least one of the crush caps, and the outward facing wall of the bumper member deforms about the outer crush groove to further deform the at least one of said crush caps when the bumper assembly is impacted by a force above said second predetermined impact level so as to provide a third level of controlled energy absorption.