A bumper assembly 10 for a vehicle includes a bumper beam 14, an actuator 16, and a lower stiffener 18. The actuator is mounted to the bumper beam, and the lower stiffener is connected to the stiffener to allow linear movement between retracted and deployed positions. In a separate independent claim the actuator includes a rod 22, the lower stiffener is fixed to the rod, and moves along the vertical axis. A third independent claim features a shield (44, Fig.7) extending from the bumper beam to the stiffener. The actuator may be configured to linearly retract when a force on the stiffener exceeds a predetermined value. Depending on pre-determined vehicle speeds, the lower stiffener is designed to move from a deployed position to a retracted position based on pedestrian leg impact considerations and to reduce the likelihood of lower stiffener damage. The lower stiffener could present a class-A surface finish.
Bumper assembly including lower leg stiffener
2017-07-19
Patent
Electronic Resource
English
IPC: | B60R Fahrzeuge, Fahrzeugausstattung oder Fahrzeugteile, soweit nicht anderweitig vorgesehen , VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR |