This application is the U.S. National Stage of International Application No. PCT/NO2009/000418, filed Dec. 3, 2009, which designated the United States and has been published as International Publication No. WO 2010/064927 and which claims the priority of Norwegian Patent Application, Serial No. 20085061, filed Dec. 4, 2008, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).
The invention relates to an impact absorbing member that includes at last one supporting member. In particular the invention relates to a crash management system including a bumper beam and crash absorbing components in one same and single part. Further, the invention relates to a method for making same.
The principle of making an integrated bumper with crash boxes has been disclosed previously, for instance in EP 1154915 B1 and DE 20 2005 016 564 U1.
However, it has not been clearly indicated how such systems would behave during common loadcases such as low speed insurance tests and regulation requirements.
A key parameter to achieve the performances required is the way the component is formed.
The present invention has the advantage of having a geometry which makes that the system has an equivalent stiffness as a traditional crash management system (mechanical assembled between crash boxes and bumper beam) and also fits in a conventional automobile packaging. Further, the invention will represent a cost efficient solution as plural process steps related to assembly of sub-components can be avoided.
In the following, the invention shall be further explained by examples and Figures where:
a shows an imprint provided in a rear wall parallel to the bending axis;
The impact absorbing member or crash management system is for practical reasons divided in areas as follows which define the following sections A-A/B-B/C-C, see.
One embodiment (Design A) of manufacturing the crash management system shall be described in the following:
imprints 12) in two walls (upper wall 14 and lower wall 13, see
The section C-C in the bending zone of this component (see
The most important point out of this final form is that in the area called A′, see
Making imprint(-s) or deformation(-s) before bending has shown to support controllable deformation of the section to be deformed during bending.
In a second embodiment (Design B) the shape of the folding could be as shown in
The most important point out of the final shape is that in the area called A′, it is ensured that the transversal section, along axis X, is in contact with the longitudinal section along axis Y. In that manner, the system can be as stiff as any other similar solution known from prior art.
In the bending processes shown in the embodiments above, at least a part of the section that is deformed during bending can be clamped or arrested in a direction perpendicular to the plane of bending. This will influence the folding of said section and also limit the vertical extension of the absorbing member in this area.
It is important to emphasize that the way in which the bending process of the system is done will have a very important influence on the stiffness on the system as shown by the The
One important parameter in bumper system design is the stiffness of the system. This can be assessed by applying a displacement in the middle section of the system and calculate the force opposed by the system. The higher the force is, the stiffer the system is.
In
In a further embodiment, one could think to optimize the shape of the profile in order to improve the integration of a towing function. Such a cross sectional shape is shown in
In the Figure there is shown an upper wall 14′, rear wall 12′, lower wall 13′ and front wall 11′.
In this version, the groove in the profile can be used in order to give better support to a towing function (towing bracket, not shown) since the contact surface is improved.
In a still further embodiment, one could think to integrate a pedestrian function taking profit of the shape of the section A-A, see
In the Figure there is shown an upper wall 14, rear wall 12, lower wall 13 and front wall 11.
Indeed, in this section one can “hide” the material coming from a pedestrian absorber in such a way that, during its deformation, the material from pedestrian absorber does not add an incompressible.
Preferably the crash management system is made out of aluminium or an Al-alloy, in particular age hardening alloys of 6xxx, for instance AA6060 or 7xxx alloys such as AA7003.
The invention shows the following advantages:
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
20085061 | Dec 2008 | NO | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/NO2009/000418 | 12/3/2009 | WO | 00 | 4/8/2011 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2010/064927 | 6/10/2010 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110221214 A1 | Sep 2011 | US |