EP2231445A1 - A motor vehicle bumper arrangement - Google Patents

A motor vehicle bumper arrangement

Info

Publication number
EP2231445A1
EP2231445A1 EP09701449A EP09701449A EP2231445A1 EP 2231445 A1 EP2231445 A1 EP 2231445A1 EP 09701449 A EP09701449 A EP 09701449A EP 09701449 A EP09701449 A EP 09701449A EP 2231445 A1 EP2231445 A1 EP 2231445A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
bumper
stiffening member
vehicle
bumper arrangement
grille
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
EP09701449A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
James Bogle
Martin C. Green
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Jaguar Land Rover Ltd
Original Assignee
Land Rover UK Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Land Rover UK Ltd filed Critical Land Rover UK Ltd
Publication of EP2231445A1 publication Critical patent/EP2231445A1/en
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
    • B60R19/02—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects
    • B60R19/04—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects formed from more than one section in a side-by-side arrangement
    • B60R19/12—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects formed from more than one section in a side-by-side arrangement vertically spaced
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
    • B60R19/02—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects
    • B60R19/18—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects characterised by the cross-section; Means within the bumper to absorb impact
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
    • B60R19/52—Radiator or grille guards ; Radiator grilles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/34—Protecting non-occupants of a vehicle, e.g. pedestrians
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
    • B60R19/02—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects
    • B60R19/18—Bumpers, i.e. impact receiving or absorbing members for protecting vehicles or fending off blows from other vehicles or objects characterised by the cross-section; Means within the bumper to absorb impact
    • B60R2019/1886—Bumper fascias and fastening means therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
    • B60R19/52—Radiator or grille guards ; Radiator grilles
    • B60R2019/525—Radiator grilles
    • B60R2019/527—Radiator grilles integral with bumpers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a front bumper arrangement for a high fronted vehicle such as for example a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).
  • the bumper assembly is designed to provide enhanced safety to a pedestrian in the event of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian, and in particular to reduce the bending angle of the legs in an accident between such a vehicle and a pedestrian.
  • GB 2 328 654 It is known from GB 2 328 654 to provide a pedestrian protection to a bumper for a saloon vehicle in which the bumper includes a first reinforcement and a bumper stay, and an auxiliary reinforcement and an auxiliary bumper stay which are disposed below the first reinforcement.
  • the auxiliary reinforcement aligns with the first mentioned reinforcement.
  • the initial deceleration is performed by the upper bumper stay which is deformed.
  • the lower, auxiliary bumper stay controls the motion of a pedestrian after the initial state of the collision in such a way that the legs of the pedestrian are allowed to rotate into the upper area of the front of the vehicle and over the top of the bonnet.
  • a bumper arrangement for a high fronted vehicle comprising an elongated bumper cover extending horizontally across the front of the vehicle and an elongated grille bar extending across the major part of the front of the vehicle at a level above that of the major part of the bumper cover, wherein the grille bar comprises at its rear side a stiffening member extending substantially across the length of the grille and which is located at a height of between 680 mm to 795 mm from the ground.
  • the grille bar comprises a housing to accommodate the stiffening member.
  • the grille bar comprises two extending side walls, each side wall including a slot for connecting the stiffening member to the grille.
  • the bumper cover is also provided with extending walls arranged in such a way that in assembly position, i.e. when the grille bar is connected to the bumper cover, the extending walls are adjacent to the side walls so as to lock in position the stiffening member in the bumper arrangement.
  • the stiffening member is substantially a C-shape in vertical cross section, having an elongated body portion and two arm portions extending away from the body portion, the arm being in use directed towards the vehicle.
  • Fig.1 is a schematic side view illustrating a high fronted vehicle having a front bumper arrangement according to the invention
  • Fig.2 is a perspective view from the inside of the bumper arrangement of Fig.1 ,
  • Fig.3 is an enlarged scrap view of Fig.2,
  • Fig.4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line Ill-Ill in Fig.3,
  • Fig.5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line IV-IV in Fig.3
  • Fig.6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line V-V in Fig.4,
  • Fig.7 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line Vl-Vl in Fig.4,
  • Fig.8 shows a similar view as Fig.3 according to a modification of the present invention.
  • Fig.9 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line VIII-VIII in Fig.8.
  • a high fronted vehicle 10 such as a Sport Utility Vehicle and/or a 4x4 vehicle.
  • vehicle 10 is conventionally provided with a bonnet 1 1 and a front bumper arrangement 12.
  • the front bumper arrangement 12 is provided with a lower load path L, a centre load path C and an upper load path U arranged at different heights from the ground so as to limit the bending of the legs of a pedestrian in the event of a frontal collision.
  • the bumper arrangement 12 comprises a bumper cover 20 and an upper grille bar 21 , both bumper cover 20 and grille bar 21 extending transversally across the front of the vehicle as seen in Fig.2.
  • the bumper cover 20 extends also around the front corners of the vehicle 10.
  • the bumper arrangement 12 is shown schematically when viewed from inside in Fig.2, and in cross section in Figs. 3 to 7.
  • the grille bar 21 is provided to its rear side with a stiffening member 23, which extends across its entire length.
  • the stiffening member 23 forms the upper load path U and is preferably located at a height of between 680 mm and 795 mm from the ground.
  • the stiffening member 23 is preferably substantially a C-shaped in vertical cross section, having an elongated body portion 23a and two arm portions 23b, 23c extending away from the body portion 23a for cooperation with a slot 24 formed on a side wall 25 extending substantially at each end of the grille 21 .
  • the grille bar 21 is also - A - provided with a housing 26 in which is accommodated the stiffening member 23, as shown in Fig. 7.
  • the stiffening member 23 is made from different materials, such as steel alloys or aluminium alloys.
  • the bumper cover 20 comprises a lower reinforcement forming the lower load path L and a deformable region forming the centre load path C.
  • the deformable region is formed by the skin of the bumper cover cooperating with a foam, sufficiently weak to collapse under the force of a collision with a pedestrian, arranged on an armature of the vehicle.
  • the stiffening member 23 is assembled to the bumper arrangement by engaging one end of the stiffening member 23 through the slot 24 of one of the side wall 25 of the grille
  • Such a bumper arrangement 20 having a stiffening member 23 attached to the rear side of the grille bar 21 increases the resistance of the grille bar 21 to the rearward motion, hence reducing the bending angle of the legs and improving the pedestrian safety.
  • the stiffening member 23 is attached to the housing by fastener means 30 such as bolts or similar so as to hold the member to the rear side of the grille bar.
  • fastener means 30 such as bolts or similar so as to hold the member to the rear side of the grille bar.
  • the stiffening member 23 could be a hollow member having a rectangular or circular or other cross section shape.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)

Abstract

A bumper arrangement for use on a high fronted vehicle comprises an elongated bumper cover 20 extending horizontally across the front of the vehicle and an elongated grille bar 21 extending across the major part of the front of the vehicle at a level above that of the major part of the bumper cover 20. The grille bar 21 comprises at its rear side a stiffening member 23 extending substantially across the length of the grille bar 21 increasing the resistance of the grille bar 21 to the rearward motion and thus reducing the bending angle of the legs and improving the pedestrian safety.

Description

A motor vehicle bumper arrangement
The present invention relates to a front bumper arrangement for a high fronted vehicle such as for example a Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV). The bumper assembly is designed to provide enhanced safety to a pedestrian in the event of a collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian, and in particular to reduce the bending angle of the legs in an accident between such a vehicle and a pedestrian.
It is known from GB 2 328 654 to provide a pedestrian protection to a bumper for a saloon vehicle in which the bumper includes a first reinforcement and a bumper stay, and an auxiliary reinforcement and an auxiliary bumper stay which are disposed below the first reinforcement. The auxiliary reinforcement aligns with the first mentioned reinforcement. In an initial state of a collision the initial deceleration is performed by the upper bumper stay which is deformed. The lower, auxiliary bumper stay controls the motion of a pedestrian after the initial state of the collision in such a way that the legs of the pedestrian are allowed to rotate into the upper area of the front of the vehicle and over the top of the bonnet.
However, in the case of a high fronted vehicle, it is commonly understood that in order to reduce the likelihood of serious injury to a pedestrian in the event of a frontal collision, the vehicle must act to absorb and support the impact of the legs of the pedestrian along as much of the height of the legs as the vehicle will allow.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bumper arrangement for a high fronted vehicle that limits the bending angle of the legs.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a bumper arrangement for a high fronted vehicle comprising an elongated bumper cover extending horizontally across the front of the vehicle and an elongated grille bar extending across the major part of the front of the vehicle at a level above that of the major part of the bumper cover, wherein the grille bar comprises at its rear side a stiffening member extending substantially across the length of the grille and which is located at a height of between 680 mm to 795 mm from the ground.
Preferably, the grille bar comprises a housing to accommodate the stiffening member.
Preferably to hold the stiffening member in position the grille bar comprises two extending side walls, each side wall including a slot for connecting the stiffening member to the grille. The bumper cover is also provided with extending walls arranged in such a way that in assembly position, i.e. when the grille bar is connected to the bumper cover, the extending walls are adjacent to the side walls so as to lock in position the stiffening member in the bumper arrangement.
Preferably, the stiffening member is substantially a C-shape in vertical cross section, having an elongated body portion and two arm portions extending away from the body portion, the arm being in use directed towards the vehicle.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: -
Fig.1 is a schematic side view illustrating a high fronted vehicle having a front bumper arrangement according to the invention,
Fig.2 is a perspective view from the inside of the bumper arrangement of Fig.1 ,
Fig.3 is an enlarged scrap view of Fig.2,
Fig.4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line Ill-Ill in Fig.3,
Fig.5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line IV-IV in Fig.3, Fig.6 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line V-V in Fig.4,
Fig.7 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line Vl-Vl in Fig.4,
Fig.8 shows a similar view as Fig.3 according to a modification of the present invention, and
Fig.9 shows a schematic cross-sectional view through the line VIII-VIII in Fig.8.
Referring to Fig.1 , there is shown a high fronted vehicle 10, such as a Sport Utility Vehicle and/or a 4x4 vehicle. The vehicle 10 is conventionally provided with a bonnet 1 1 and a front bumper arrangement 12. The front bumper arrangement 12 is provided with a lower load path L, a centre load path C and an upper load path U arranged at different heights from the ground so as to limit the bending of the legs of a pedestrian in the event of a frontal collision.
The bumper arrangement 12 comprises a bumper cover 20 and an upper grille bar 21 , both bumper cover 20 and grille bar 21 extending transversally across the front of the vehicle as seen in Fig.2. The bumper cover 20 extends also around the front corners of the vehicle 10.
The bumper arrangement 12 is shown schematically when viewed from inside in Fig.2, and in cross section in Figs. 3 to 7. The grille bar 21 is provided to its rear side with a stiffening member 23, which extends across its entire length. The stiffening member 23 forms the upper load path U and is preferably located at a height of between 680 mm and 795 mm from the ground. The stiffening member 23 is preferably substantially a C-shaped in vertical cross section, having an elongated body portion 23a and two arm portions 23b, 23c extending away from the body portion 23a for cooperation with a slot 24 formed on a side wall 25 extending substantially at each end of the grille 21 . The grille bar 21 is also - A - provided with a housing 26 in which is accommodated the stiffening member 23, as shown in Fig. 7.
As can best be seen in Figs. 3 and 6, the two arm portions of the stiffening members
23b and 23c cooperates with tabs 27 arranged along the housing 26 so as to retain the stiffening members 23 in a fixed position. The stiffening member 23 is made from different materials, such as steel alloys or aluminium alloys. The grille bar 21 and the bumper cover
20 are made from plastic materials.
The bumper cover 20 comprises a lower reinforcement forming the lower load path L and a deformable region forming the centre load path C. The deformable region is formed by the skin of the bumper cover cooperating with a foam, sufficiently weak to collapse under the force of a collision with a pedestrian, arranged on an armature of the vehicle.
The stiffening member 23 is assembled to the bumper arrangement by engaging one end of the stiffening member 23 through the slot 24 of one of the side wall 25 of the grille
21 and then slides the stiffening member 23 into the housing 26 until the end of the stiffening member 23 is engaged through the opposite slot 24 of the side wall 25. The grille bar 21 and the stiffening member 23 are then connected to the bumper cover 20 where, as shown in Fig. 5, extending walls 28 from the bumper cover 20 cooperates with each end of the stiffening member 23 to lock it in position.
Such a bumper arrangement 20 having a stiffening member 23 attached to the rear side of the grille bar 21 increases the resistance of the grille bar 21 to the rearward motion, hence reducing the bending angle of the legs and improving the pedestrian safety.
In an alternative shown Figs. 7 to 8, the stiffening member 23 is attached to the housing by fastener means 30 such as bolts or similar so as to hold the member to the rear side of the grille bar. Although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to a specific embodiment of the invention various modifications may be made without departing from the invention. For example, the stiffening member 23 could be a hollow member having a rectangular or circular or other cross section shape.

Claims

1. A bumper arrangement for a high fronted vehicle comprising an elongated bumper cover extending horizontally across the front of the vehicle and an elongated grille bar extending across the major part of the front of the vehicle at a level above that of the major part of the bumper cover, wherein the grille bar comprises at its rear side a stiffening member extending substantially across the length of the grille and which is located at a height of between 680 mm to 795 mm from the ground.
2. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the grille bar comprises a housing to accommodate the stiffening member.
3. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the grille bar comprises two side walls, each side wall including a slot for connecting the stiffening member to the grille.
4. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 3 wherein the bumper cover is provided with extending walls arranged in such a way that in assembly position, i.e. when the grille bar is connected to the bumper cover, the extending walls are adjacent to the side walls so as to lock the stiffening member in the bumper arrangement.
5. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 2 wherein the stiffening member is attached to the grille bar by fastener means.
6. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the stiffening member is substantially a C-shape in vertical cross section, having an elongated body portion and two arm portions extending away from the body portion, the arm being in use directed towards the vehicle.
7. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 6 wherein the housing is provided with tabs arranged so as to cooperate with the end of the two arm portions of the member.
8. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 6 in which the stiffening member is made from steel or aluminium alloys.
9. A bumper arrangement as claimed in claim 1 in which the stiffening member is a hollow member.
EP09701449A 2008-01-03 2009-01-05 A motor vehicle bumper arrangement Ceased EP2231445A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0800050.7A GB2456143B (en) 2008-01-03 2008-01-03 A motor vehicle bumper arrangement
PCT/IB2009/000037 WO2009087569A1 (en) 2008-01-03 2009-01-05 A motor vehicle bumper arrangement

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2231445A1 true EP2231445A1 (en) 2010-09-29

Family

ID=39111081

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP09701449A Ceased EP2231445A1 (en) 2008-01-03 2009-01-05 A motor vehicle bumper arrangement

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2231445A1 (en)
GB (1) GB2456143B (en)
WO (1) WO2009087569A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE102009012941A1 (en) * 2009-03-12 2010-09-16 Volkswagen Ag Safety device for use in nose of body of passenger car for protecting pedestrian, during collision or off-set crash in low speed range, has additional deformation element provided between fairing unit and mounting carrier

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH0958384A (en) * 1995-08-25 1997-03-04 Suzuki Motor Corp Radiator grill mounting structure
JP3870503B2 (en) 1997-09-01 2007-01-17 日産自動車株式会社 Automotive bumper structure
JP3705049B2 (en) * 1999-11-18 2005-10-12 マツダ株式会社 Front body structure of the vehicle
EP1400416B8 (en) * 2002-09-20 2008-07-09 Ford Global Technologies, LLC Pedestrian safety device
JP2005162188A (en) * 2003-09-25 2005-06-23 Nissan Motor Co Ltd Vehicle body structure
FR2875771B1 (en) * 2004-09-30 2020-02-07 Valeo Thermique Moteur IMPACT PROTECTION DEVICE FOR A FRONT PANEL OF A MOTOR VEHICLE AND FRONT PANEL COMPRISING THE DEVICE
DE102005017567A1 (en) * 2005-04-16 2006-10-19 Daimlerchrysler Ag motor vehicle front
DE102005026868A1 (en) 2005-06-10 2006-12-14 GM Global Technology Operations, Inc., Detroit Pedestrian protection for off-road vehicles by Upper Support Structure
JP4487863B2 (en) * 2005-06-16 2010-06-23 トヨタ自動車株式会社 Collision body protection structure for vehicle
JP4389847B2 (en) * 2005-06-27 2009-12-24 トヨタ自動車株式会社 Vehicle front structure
JP2007055311A (en) * 2005-08-22 2007-03-08 Mazda Motor Corp Front part structure of vehicle

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Title
See references of WO2009087569A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2009087569A1 (en) 2009-07-16
GB2456143A (en) 2009-07-08
GB0800050D0 (en) 2008-02-13
GB2456143B (en) 2012-11-28

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