Impact damper

Abstract

Impact damper as a connecting member between a bumper and a chassis of a motor vehicle for the purpose of damping the shock loading during a collision between this motor vehicle and an obstacle, predominantly through gas-spring forces and deformation work. This impact damper includes an inner tube and an outer tube, which can be displaced telescopically one inside the other, thereby changing the volume of pressurized first and second gas spaces, at least one of the gas spaces being connected to an accumulator by a pneumatic feed line. An electrically controllable control valve, by means of which the air pressure in the gas spaces can be changed, can be arranged in the pneumatic feed line. The pressure in the gas spaces can be varied by a detection sensor system in the motor vehicle, which controls a control valve and adapts the pressure to the expected momentum of the collision. It is possible for a deformation element to be displaced as well to absorb a high impact energy by deformation work.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.