Magna International Inc.

Thomas James Freundl

Jeffery Jay Mellis

A longitudinally extending extruded aluminum bumper is constructed and used in a bumper assembly to protect a vehicle from impact. The bumper includes a three wall design, formed by an integrally formed top wall and a bottom wall interconnected by a front vertically extending wall. The top and bottom walls have open ends that are spaced relative to one another to form a longitudinally extending, open-ended channel therebetween. Upwardly extending and downwardly extending flanges are integrally formed with front vertically extending wall and the top and bottom walls of the bumper. The extruded bumper can be attached directly to an end of a vehicle. Impact absorption devices can also be inserted into the longitudinally extending channel of the bumper and abut against the front vertical wall. Welds can be provided in a non-planar manner to connect the impact absorption devices to the bumper.

Lightweight extruded aluminum bumper

A bumper assembly includes a bumper beam having a bumper beam surface extending along a bumper plane X and a crash box including a crash box surface extending along a crash box plane Y. One of the bumper beam and the crash box includes an alignment joint to mate the bumper beam and the crash box and dispose the surfaces in abutting and aligned relationship relative to one another for establishing a linear load path extending linearly along the planes X, Y. A method of assembling a bumper assembly includes the steps of mating the bumper beam and the crash box about the alignment joint and connecting the bumper beam and the crash box together along the alignment joint. The step of connecting the bumper beam and the crash box includes friction stir welding the bumper box and the crash box together along the alignment joint.

Growing community of inventors

Clarkston, MI, United States of America

Thomas James Freundl