Water drainage system for the rear bumper of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a water drainage device for the rear bumper (1) of a motor vehicle, comprising an opening (10) formed through said bumper and a movable sealing element (2) between a closed position of said opening and an open position allowing the drainage of water accumulated during a ford crossing of the vehicle, characterized in that it comprises an automatic locking / unlocking mechanism for controlling said sealing element (2) and is coupled to a series of sensors for measuring, respectively, the water depth in the ford and the volume of water accumulated by the bumper. (Fig. 1)

Claims

Demands

1. A water drainage device for the rear bumper (1) of a motor vehicle comprising an opening (10) made through said bumper and a movable sealing element (2) between a closed position of said opening and an open position allowing the discharge of the quantity of water accumulated during a fording of the vehicle, characterized in that it comprises an automatic locking / unlocking mechanism intended to control said sealing element (2) by being coupled to a series of sensors (3) intended to measure, respectively, the height of water in the ford and the volume of water accumulated by the bumper.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said automatic locking / unlocking mechanism comprises an electric actuator.

3. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said opening (10) extends into the lower middle part of the rear bumper.

4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said mechanism comprises a return spring for the closing element in the closed position.

5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said sealing element (2) is in the form of a flap housed in a frame (12) mounted in the bumper opening and carried by substantially horizontal lateral pivots (11).

6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the water height sensor (3) comprises a body (31) fixed to the inner wall of the bumper (1) and carrying a pivoting rod (32) fixed to an axle of the vehicle.

7. Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the water height sensor (3) is associated with compensation algorithms enabling, on the one hand, to distinguish the variations in height of the vehicle axle relative to the road surface and the variations in height of this axle relative to the water surface of the ford and, taking into account, on the other hand, the dynamics of the vehicle.

8. Rear bumper (1) of a motor vehicle equipped with a water drainage device according to any one of the preceding claims.

9. Motor vehicle whose structure incorporates a rear bumper (1) equipped with a water drainage device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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