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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to absorbing shock due to impact, and particularly to using a crushable member to absorb the shock.
2. Description of Background
It is common to mount elastomeric bumpers on the edges and corners of devices, such as electronic devices and shipping packages, for example, to absorb the shock of impacts that may occur while they are handled. The resilient nature of elastomeric bumpers, however, tends to redirect the energy instead of absorbing the energy of an impact. In some instances the device being protected would benefit from a more energy absorptive arrangement as opposed to merely energy redirection. One example of an arrangement that absorbs energy is the crumple zone. These have been developed primarily with respect to automobiles; however, they are effective at absorbing the energy of an impact regardless of the application. The effectiveness of a crumple zone is due, in part, to the absorption of energy during the crumpling, or deformation, of the material from which the crumple zone is constructed. Larger crumple zones, that is crumple zones with more length between a point of impact and the portion of the device that is to be protected from the impact, are more effective than smaller crumple zones, all things being equal.
This relationship of crumple zone size to effectiveness makes it difficult to mount an effective crumple zone on a laptop computer, for example, without adding significant size to the laptop computer for the crumple zone components themselves. An effective crumple zone with minimal size would, therefore, be desirable in the art.
The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the provision of an apparatus that relates to a shock absorbing and indicating bumper. The apparatus includes, a spherical shaped body with a surface mountable to a corner of a device to which shock is to be absorbed. The apparatus also includes a crushable conical member engaged with a conical recess of the spherical shaped body, the crushable conical member having a hole therethrough from the vertex to the center of the base, and a shell with a substantially hollow semispherical shape slidably engaged with a surface of the spherical shaped body. The apparatus further includes a rigid shaft with a first end fixedly attached to a central portion of the hollowed side of the shell and a second end pivotally engaged with the spherical shaped body at substantially the center of the spherical shaped body, the shaft extending through the hole in the crushable member and aligned thereby.
Further disclosed herein is a method that relates to absorbing and indicating shock. The method includes, receiving an impact and transferring some of the impact load to a rotational component, thereby rotationally displacing a first member relative to a second member. The method further includes crushing a crushable material with the displacement of the first member relative to the second member, absorbing at least some of the impact with the crushable material, and exposing a portion of the second member in response to the displacement of the first member relative to the second member.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better understanding of the invention with advantages and features, refer to the description and to the drawings.
As a result of the summarized invention, technically we have achieved a solution, which absorbs impact loads, and records that an impact load has occurred.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains the preferred embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
Referring to
The body 14 has a rigid shaft 30 pivotally engaged therewith. The rigid shaft 30 has a rod portion 32 and a first end 34 with a spherical shape. The shaft 30 further comprises a second end 42 having a tapped hole 46. Tapped hole 46 is threadably receptive of a screw 50. The screw 50 fixedly attaches a hollow semispherically shaped shell 54 to the rigid shaft 30. The second end 42 of the shaft 30 is inserted through a hole 58 in the body 14 before being attached to the shell 54 by the screw 50. The hole 58 has a diameter that is smaller than the spherical diameter of the first end 34, thereby preventing the first end 34 from passing therethrough. The length of the shaft 30 and the body 14 are sized such that the first end 34 is positioned substantially at the volumetric center of the spherical body 14. The hollow shell 54 fits to an outer spherical surface 62, of the body 14, such that it is slidably engaged with the surface 62.
Through the construction just described, the screw 50 attaches the shell 54 to the shaft 30, thereby locking the body 14 therebetween, such that the shell 54 and the shaft 30 can rotate relative to the body 14. The body 14 also includes a conical recess 66 that extends symmetrically about the hole 58 from a center of the body 14 to the surface 62. A crushable conical member 70 complementarily engages with the conical recess 66. The conical member 70 includes a hole 74 that extends from the vertex 78 to the base 82 of the conical member 70. The hole 74 is receptive of the rod portion 32 of the shaft 30. The conical member 70 thereby centers the shaft 30 and the shell 54 about the conical recess 66.
Referring now to
The absorption of energy, due to the crushing of the conical member 70 during the formation of the slot 90, can be beneficial to the device 26. This benefit is derived from decreasing the magnitude of the deceleration (negative acceleration) that occurs during an impact or shock. For example, if the device 26 were to be dropped onto a concrete floor, the device will accelerate until it reaches an impact velocity (Vimpact) with which the device 26 hits the floor. The final velocity (Vfinal), after the impact, will be zero since the concrete floor will not move. Thus the device 26 must decelerate from Vimpact to Vfinal during the impact. Since deceleration is defined as the change in velocity over time, by increasing the time during which the deceleration takes place, the maximum deceleration that the device encounters will be decreased. Since damage to the device 26 is often related to the maximum deceleration encountered by the device 26; a decrease in the maximum deceleration may decrease the chances of damage to the device 26 occurring from any given impact or shock. The crushable conical member 70 increases the deceleration time by extending the time from the start of the impact until the velocity equals zero.
In order for the crushing of the conical member 70 to absorb energy from the impact at least a portion of the conical member 70 must be crushed. Additionally, since the conical member 70 can only be crushed in a rotational direction of the shell 54 relative to the body 14, the motion of the impact must be, at least partially in a rotational direction. An exemplary embodiment can transfer some motion of the impact from a linear motion to a rotational motion.
Referring to
Referring again to
The capabilities of the present invention can be implemented in software, firmware, hardware or some combination thereof.
As one example, one or more aspects of the present invention can be included in an article of manufacture (e.g., one or more computer program products) having, for instance, computer usable media. The media has embodied therein, for instance, computer readable program code means for providing and facilitating the capabilities of the present invention. The article of manufacture can be included as a part of a computer system or sold separately.
While the preferred embodiment to the invention has been described, it will be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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4812932 | Hishinuma et al. | Mar 1989 | A |
5875875 | Knotts | Mar 1999 | A |
6657858 | Rothschild | Dec 2003 | B2 |
7377577 | Carroll et al. | May 2008 | B2 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20080111386 A1 | May 2008 | US |