Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Avinash S Phadatare

Jeremiah Thomas Hammer

Robert J Marks

David N Evans

Aaron Richard Steinhilb

Palani Palaniappan

Majid Shaikh

Scott Louis Frederick

Ryan Craig Harris

Edgardo Reyes-Crespo

Rahul Gururaj

Sanjeev Gupta

Jesse Taylor

James E Ralph

Kristin Zwirlein

A bumper assembly includes a bumper cover, a bumper reinforcement beam spaced apart from the bumper cover, and a low speed bumper energy absorber that extends along a front surface of the bumper reinforcement beam between the bumper cover and the bumper reinforcement beam. The low speed bumper energy absorber includes a body portion extending along the front surface of the bumper reinforcement beam, wherein at least a portion of the body portion is space apart from the bumper cover, and one or more air deflectors extending between the body portion and the bumper cover, wherein the one or more air deflectors substantially isolate a portion of the bumper assembly from air leakage through the bumper assembly.

Bumper assemblies and vehicles with integrated air deflectors

A bumper assembly includes a bumper cover, a bumper reinforcement beam spaced apart from the bumper cover, a low speed bumper energy absorber that extends along a front surface of the bumper reinforcement beam between the bumper cover and the bumper reinforcement beam, and a low force energy absorber positioned below the low speed bumper energy absorber. The low force energy absorber includes a body portion extending along the front surface of the bumper reinforcement beam and one or more air deflectors extending from an upper surface of the body portion between the low speed bumper energy absorber and the bumper cover. The one or more air deflectors are configured to substantially isolate a portion of the bumper assembly from air leakage through the bumper assembly.

A bumper assembly includes a bumper cover including one or more air deflectors extending inward from the bumper cover, a bumper reinforcement beam positioned rearward of the bumper cover, and a low speed bumper energy absorber that extends along a front surface of the bumper reinforcement beam between the bumper cover and the bumper reinforcement beam. The one or more air deflectors extend from the bumper cover toward the low speed bumper energy absorber at an oblique angle relative to a front face of the low speed bumper energy absorber to substantially isolate a portion of the bumper assembly from air leakage through the bumper assembly.

A front hood assembly for a vehicle including a front grille may include a sensory assembly, a bumper assembly positioned adjacent to the front grille, and an energy absorber structure. The bumper assembly may include a bumper reinforcement having a front face and a top face, which front face is disposed below and extends away from the top face. The energy absorber structure may be positioned adjacent to the top face of the bumper reinforcement. The energy absorber structure may be rearwardly compliant in an impact direction and disposed below and rearwardly of the sensory assembly such that an impact of the sensory assembly with the energy absorber structure in the impact direction collapses the energy absorber structure rearwardly.

Deformable energy absorber structures for front hood assemblies of vehicles

A bumper includes a bumper reinforcement beam and a reinforcement bracket positioned on a front side of the bumper reinforcement beam at an outboard end of the bumper reinforcement beam. An energy diverting bumper structure is positioned on a front side of the reinforcement bracket. The energy diverting bumper structure is connected directly to the reinforcement bracket and is connected indirectly to the bumper reinforcement beam through the reinforcement bracket.

Energy diverting bumper structures for bumpers and methods of connecting energy diverting bumper structures

Vehicle structures for dissipating and distributing energy associated with a collision are described herein. In one embodiment, a rim includes an inner flange and an outer flange that extend around a periphery of the rim, a rim wall that extends around the periphery of the rim and that extends between the inner flange and the outer flange in the vehicle lateral direction, a drop-well portion that is positioned between the rim wall and the outer flange in the vehicle lateral direction, where the rim wall comprises an increased thickness region that is positioned proximate to the drop-well portion, and where a maximum thickness of the increased thickness region is greater than a maximum thickness of the rim wall positioned outside of the increased thickness region, and at least one spoke extending radially inward from the drop-well portion.

Vehicle rims including deformable features and vehicles incorporating the same

A vehicle bumper structure includes a lateral arrangement of hollow lobes forming an energy absorption apparatus attached to a beam. The lobes are designed to provide a predetermined peak force resistance and a predetermined energy absorption capability. Local stiffening to increase the buckling resistance and energy absorption is provided by increased stiffness regions provided in one or more locations on one or more of the lobes. The local increased stiffness regions can be provided by an increased wall thickness surrounding apertures formed in selected shear walls of the lobes or a laterally outward offset in the shape of the shear walls of the lobes.

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Canton, MI, United States of America

Avinash S Phadatare