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:
Dec. 22, 2015
Filed:
Sep. 06, 2013
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Erlanger, KY (US);
Blaine C. Benson, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Mark D. Clauser, Saline, MI (US);
Min Zhu, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Erlanger, KY (US);
Abstract
A panel for a vehicle. The panel includes an outer panel and an inner panel. The outer panel has an exterior surface and an underside surface, and the inner panel is located adjacent to and along the underside surface of the outer panel, but spaced apart from the outer panel. The inner panel also exhibits a bow over a substantial portion of its length, with the bow being in a direction toward the outer panel. The bow induces a moment in the inner panel during impact of the vehicle in a collision that causes the inner panel and, resultantly, the outer panel to undergo a predetermined deformation in an upward direction relative to the vehicle. The panel may be provided as the hood of the vehicle.