Pedestrian Protection Plate with Variable Rigidity for Impact Tuning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pedestrian protection apparatuses installed on vehicles face challenges in optimizing the load characteristic to ensure effective leg protection, as they often fail to generate sufficient reaction force to sweep away legs during collisions, and are difficult to tune for varying vehicle types and configurations.
Innovation Solution
A pedestrian protection apparatus featuring a synthetic resin plate with a front section more rigid than the rear section and a center section less rigid than the front but more rigid than the rear, designed to bend in an S-shape or staircase form upon impact, allowing for rapid increase in impact load and adjustable load characteristic by varying the center section's dimensions or reinforcing members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a synthetic resin plate with uniform rigidity is used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the impact load does not increase rapidly enough in the early stage of collision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating sections with different rigidities along the synthetic resin plate. The plate is divided into a front section with higher rigidity and a rear section with lower rigidity, allowing different parts to perform different functions during collision - the front section provides immediate structural support while the rear section allows controlled deformation for rapid load increase.
2Strength
If the front section rigidity is increased to prevent deformation, then the reaction force is enhanced, but the overall impact load increases slowly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the synthetic resin plate into distinct sections with different rigidities. The front section maintains high rigidity to provide immediate structural support and prevent excessive deformation, while the rear section has lower rigidity to enable controlled deformation that rapidly increases the impact load during collision.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the center section dimension is changed to tune load characteristic, then the load optimization is improved, but the design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by allowing adjustment of the center section dimension (length in the longitudinal direction) to tune the load characteristic. By varying this single geometric parameter, the distance between buckling points can be controlled, thereby optimizing the impact load profile for different vehicle types and collision scenarios without requiring complex multi-parameter design changes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus ensures a sufficient and reliable reaction force to sweep away legs during collisions, effectively protecting pedestrians by rapidly reaching target impact loads and allowing for easy tuning of load characteristics to suit different vehicle configurations.
Implementation Method 1
the center section is less rigid than the front section and more rigid than the rear section so that the plate is bent at a boundary portion between the center section and the rear section and at a front adjacent portion of the rear section on the front side of and adjacent to the fixed portion by an impact load which is inputted
Data Source
AI summary
In a pedestrian protection apparatus installed in a lower part of a front of a vehicle, a plate extends in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and includes a front section having at least a portion protruding from the front of the vehicle, a rear section fixed to the vehicle, and a center section provided between the front and rear sections. The front section is more rigid than the rear section, and the center section is less rigid than the front section and more rigid than the rear section.