Impact absorber for vehicle
OwnerKam Hang Leunginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An impact absorber for a vehicle includes an outer body including a cavity having an axis, and an inner body situated partially within the cavity for relative movement into the cavity when the absorber is subjected to an impact. The inner body has at least one lateral protrusion. A number of deformable units are located in the outer body at different positions along the cavity. The deformable units partially protrude into the cavity for successive engagements and deformations, one unit after another unit, along the cavity, by the protrusion of the inner body moving into the outer body, thereby absorbing the energy of an impact in different stages. Each deformable unit includes a rigid ball protruding into the cavity and a deformable plate fixed behind the ball.
Claims15
An impact absorber for a vehicle, comprising:
- an outer body including a cavity having an axis, and an opening;
- an inner body situated partially within the cavity and extending through the opening for relative movement into the cavity along the axis when the absorber is subjected to an impact, the inner body having at least one lateral protrusion transverse to the axis;
- and
- a plurality of deformable units located in the outer body at discrete positions along the axis, the deformable units partially protruding into the cavity for successive engagements and deformations, one unit after another unit, along the axis, by the protrusion of the inner body moving into the outer body along the axis, thereby absorbing energy of an impact progressively, in different stages, wherein each deformable unit comprises a ball partially protruding into the cavity and a deformable member, softer than the ball, located outwardly from the ball relative to the axis, in a hole in the outer body, the deformable member being deformed upon absorbing the energy of an impact.
An impact absorber for a vehicle, comprising:
- an outer body including a cavity having an axis, and an opening;
- an inner body situated partially within the cavity and extending through the opening for relative movement into the cavity along the axis when the absorber is subjected to an impact, the inner body having at least one annular protrusion transverse to the axis;
- and
- a plurality of deformable units located in the outer body at discrete positions along the axis, the deformable units partially protruding into the cavity for successive engagements and deformations, one unit after another unit, along the axis, by the annular protrusion of the inner body moving relatively into the outer body along the axis, thereby absorbing energy of an impact progressively, in different stages, wherein
- a plurality of the deformable units are arranged circumferentially around the cavity at each of the discrete positions along the axis, and
- the plurality of deformable units at one of the discrete positions along the axis are not aligned, along a direction parallel to the axis, with respective deformation units at an adjacent discrete position along the axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.