Ford Motor Company Limited

Jau-Ching L Leu

Ronald A Carpenter

A bumper structure, for use with an internal frame structure of a vehicle which has a pair of longitudinally extending generally parallel rail members and a cross-beam member attached to and extending transversely of the rail members, including a face bar member which slidingly receives the cross-beam member and provides a cavity between the two members. Energy absorbing material resides within the cavity. Should the frontal portion of the face bar receive an impact load above a predetermined magnitude, the face bar will slide rearward toward the cross-bar member thereby compressing the energy absorbing material and absorbing the impact. Various alternative constructions are included which additionally preclude relative lateral movement of the bumper structure during compression of the bumper beam relative to the frame member, including providing the face bar member with a back-up plate rearward of the cross-beam member and which straddles the respective axially extending rail members.

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Southfield, MI, United States of America

Jau-Ching L Leu