Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Sanjeev Gupta

Scott Louis Frederick

Ryan Craig Harris

Avinash S Phadatare

Edgardo Reyes-Crespo

Palani Palaniappan

Palaniappan Palaniappan

Kristin Zwirlein

Christopher M Kors

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

An example gusset for attaching a rear bumper assembly to a vehicle has a first attachment portion configured to attach to the bumper reinforcement bracket and the lower back panel of the vehicle, a second attachment portion configured to attach to the rear side member of the vehicle, and an angled portion presenting an oblique surface to a rear impactor to the vehicle. A pair of side portions are interconnected and spaced apart by the second attachment portion, and each side portion has an angled edge adjacent the angled portion.

Vehicle crash gusset for rear impact

Growing community of inventors

Northville, MI, United States of America

Sanjeev Gupta