Pivotal Wing Extensions for Impact-Absorbing Bumper Assemblies
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle bumpers often require replacement or repair after low-speed impacts, leading to increased ownership costs and reduced effectiveness, particularly at the ends or corner portions.
Innovation Solution
A bumper assembly with pivotally coupled wing extensions that move from a rest position to an impact position in response to an impact force, featuring elastic plates for spring-back functionality and stop elements to restrict deformation, allowing the bumper to absorb impacts and return to its original state without maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional vehicle bumpers are used, then the bumper structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the bumper requires replacement or repair after low-speed impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper assembly incorporates movable wing extensions that can pivot between a rest position and an impact position. This dynamic capability allows the bumper to adapt its configuration in response to impact forces, enabling it to absorb low-speed impacts and return to its original state without permanent damage or the need for replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The bumper assembly is divided into distinct components: a transverse bumper body and separate wing extensions. This segmentation allows the wing extensions to move independently in response to impacts while the main bumper body remains stable, improving overall durability without significantly complicating the manufacturing process.
2Reliability
If conventional vehicle bumpers are used, then the manufacturing cost is low, but the cost of ownership increases due to frequent replacements
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper assembly is designed to recover from impact damage through the spring-back mechanism of the elastic plates and the pivotal movement of the wing extensions. Instead of discarding the entire bumper after an impact, the system automatically returns to its functional state, eliminating the need for replacement and reducing long-term ownership costs.
3Reliability
If conventional vehicle bumpers are used, then the bumper structure is simple, but the bumper effectiveness is reduced after collisions
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper assembly performs self-repair through its inherent elastic and mechanical properties. The elastic plates provide spring-back force to return the wing extensions to their original position, and the pivotal coupling mechanisms automatically reset after impact, maintaining bumper effectiveness without external intervention or complex active control systems.
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 solution reduces the need for whole-bumper replacements by absorbing low-speed impacts and returning to its resting state, providing cost-effective and durable protection to vehicle bodies.
Implementation Method 1
The first elastic plate can be positioned to contact the inner surface of the first wing extension as the first wing extension moves from the rest position to the impact position, and the first elastic plate can be configured to apply a spring-back force to the first wing extension to return the first wing extension to the rest position.
Data Source
AI summary
A bumper assembly having a transverse bumper body and at least one wing extension that is configured for pivotal movement relative to a side end of the transverse bumper body. Each wing extension has inner and outer surfaces and is moveable from a rest position to an impact position in response to an impact force acting within a horizontal plane. In the rest position, the outer surface of each wing extension is parallel or substantially parallel to the transverse axis, and in the impact position, the outer surface of the wing extension is positioned at an acute angle relative to the transverse axis. Each wing extension is configured to return to its rest position in response to removal of the impact force.