Pneumatic shock absorber for an automobile bumper having venting means
US5029919A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 15, 1990 |
| Grant date | Jul 9, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 15, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF16F9/0472
- WIPO fieldMechanical elements
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A pneumatic energy absorbing arrangement, for use between the bumper and the frame of an automobile, includes a piston and cylinder combination which provides for an increasing amount of force or energy absorbed in relation to an increasing amount of travel between the piston and cylinder combination and, therefore, of the automobile itself. Exhaustion of the air within the piston cylinder combination is accomplished by a decreasing area of vent holes as the travel of the piston and cylinder increases. A specific or variable rate spring is provided to bias the piston and cylinder arrangement in an extended before-impact condition and absorb energy. The energy absorption device provided by this invention is reusable in that it is not destroyed during an impact.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.