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. 05, 2017
Filed:
Oct. 27, 2016
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Erlanger, KY (US);
Mark C. Kulik, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Naipaul D. Ramoutar, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Erlanger, KY (US);
Abstract
A mounting assembly for an automotive radiator, a vehicle including such a mounting and a method of mitigating an impact between a vehicle and a pedestrian. The assembly includes a radiator support and one or more brackets. Each bracket is made up of a first end portion that is secured to the radiator support and a second end portion extending forward of the radiator support such that it can be attached to a load-bearing structure within a vehicle. The brackets each include at least one enhanced collapsible zone in order to promote energy absorption relative to energy transmission in situations where a vehicle experiences a front-end impact with a pedestrian or other object. In this way, the added energy absorption by the brackets reduces the amount of impact energy being transmitted to more rigid vehicular structures such as the radiator and its support; this increase in impact energy absorption in turn results in less energy being delivered to the pedestrian.