Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Body shell
Patent
1997-12-19
2000-02-01
Pedder, Dennis H.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Body shell
188375, 188377, 180274, 280784, 293133, B60R 2100
Patent
active
060194197
ABSTRACT:
A crush control system for controlling the crush of spaced vehicle side composite structural rails in the event of either a full frontal impact or an offset frontal impact includes a crush controller for each side rail. An actuator is provided to move crush initiators between an inoperative position, which will cause an uncontrolled crush of the rail, and a deployed operative position, which will cause a controlled crush of the rail at half the crush force as an uncontrolled crush. In one embodiment each crush controller is normally inoperative and is controlled by a sensor for each located on the opposite side of the vehicle to become operative when the sensor is impacted. The crush initiators may take the form of a radiused wedge or a knife cutter, and the actuator maintains the crush initiators in deployed position to sustain the controlled crush. In another embodiment sensors on both sides control each crush controller which is normally operative, with a circuit logic to cause a crush controller to become inoperative in an offset frontal impact on the same side of the vehicle, while maintaining a crush controller operative in the event of a full frontal impact.
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Browne Alan Lampe
Jones Gary Lee
General Motors Corporation
Leahy Charles E.
Marra Kathryn A.
Pedder Dennis H.
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