The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 25, 1991
Filed:
Oct. 16, 1989
Marc D Hewko, Canton, MI (US);
Excel Industries, Inc., Elkhart, IN (US);
Abstract
A hollow beam is disclosed for a vehicle door assembly which is configured to collapse upon a transverse impact to absorb impact energy, thus reducing the impact forces experienced by a vehicle occupant during a collison. The energy absorbing beam is configured as a parallelogram in cross-section so as to enable the beam to act as a four-bar linkage during collapse. The energy absorbing beam is preferably disposed in the door assembly at the vehicle beltline which is often impacted by the occupant's head or torso during a vehicle collision. Various features can be added to the provide localized stiffening of the beam as necessary depending upon the particular beam application.