Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

John Qingrui Liu

Scott M Rollins

Roger Joseph Khami

Ha To Chung

Erik Henry Hermann

John Marsh

Eric Wells

Leon Speed

The disclosed inventive concept provides a crushable air duct having formed thereon a series of strategically positioned and patterned crack-initiating grooves. The grooves allow the air duct to be crushed in an impact event and a specified impact force, thereby protecting adjacent and higher cost under hood components from damage. In an impact event, the series of grooves allows the cracks in the air duct to readily propagate throughout the pattern in a controlled and predictable manner. The crushable air duct is formed from a rigid polymerized material. The duct includes an inlet and an outlet. The grooves are formed on either or both the exterior surface and the interior surface of the duct. Some of the grooves extend generally between the inlet and the outlet. These grooves are preferably parallel. Other grooves are circumferentially formed around the duct. At least some of the parallel and circumferential grooves intersect.

Breakable duct for use with a motor vehicle air induction system

A spring clamp for providing a compressive load to a compression seal in an air filtration system for a vehicle. The spring clamp may be made of a plastic composite and includes an arch-like arm wherein elastic deformation is distributed throughout the arch while providing a compressive load. The spring clamp may include a head piece with a greater thickness than the other parts of the spring clamp to provide greater material strength at a point of contact between the spring clamp and an air filter housing.

Spring clamp for an air filter housing

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

John Qingrui Liu