Bumper crossbeam for a motor vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12319217-B2
Application number	US-202017639970-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 3, 2020
Priority date	Sep 6, 2019
Publication date	Jun 3, 2025
Grant date	Jun 3, 2025

Abstract

A bumper cross member for a motor vehicle, having a crossmember extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and two crashboxes connected thereto and designed as hollow chamber sections. Each crashbox is connected with its end facing away from the vehicle to the crossmember in a respective end section thereof, and may be connected, with its end facing the vehicle, to a structural component of the vehicle. The crashboxes are supported with their end faces only in sections on the rear side of the crossmember, in particular such that the support is continuous or at least substantially continuous either in the upper and lower end-face areas, or in the two lateral end-face areas, while support of the other end-face areas is provided only in sections or absent. The distance between the end-face areas of the crashboxes, which are unsupported on the crossmember, is set from the rear side of the crossmember, such that only after a first phase of energy absorption with deformation of the crashbox is the end face facing the crossmember supported over its whole surface on the rear side of the crossmember.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A bumper crossmember for a motor vehicle, wherein an x-direction corresponds to a longitudinal extension of the vehicle, a y-direction corresponds to a transverse extension of the vehicle, and a z-direction corresponds to a vertical direction, the bumper crossmember comprising:
a crossmember extending in the y-direction and two crashboxes connected thereto in respective end sections of the crossmember, wherein each crashbox has an end connected to the crossmember and an opposite end configured to be connected to a structural component of the vehicle, and wherein, on the end connected to the crossmember, each crashbox has an end face facing the crossmember with an upper end-face area, a lower end-face area, and two lateral end-face areas,
wherein the crashboxes are supported with the end faces thereof only in sections on a rear side of the crossmember, such that support is continuous or at least substantially continuous either in the upper and lower end-face areas or in the two lateral end-face areas, while support of the respective other end-face areas is absent or provided only in sections, and wherein the end-face areas of the crashboxes not supported on the rear side of the crossmember are positioned from the rear side of the crossmember such that each end face is fully supported on the rear side of the crossmember only after a first phase of energy absorption with deformation of the respective crashbox,
wherein the upper and lower end-face areas of the crashboxes are continuously or at least substantially continuously supported on the rear side of the crossmember, while the two lateral end-face areas are unsupported or supported only in sections on the rear side of the crossmember.

2. The bumper crossmember of claim 1 , wherein each crashbox is composed of two U-shaped half shells adjoining one another along longitudinal joints thereof.

3. The bumper crossmember of claim 2 , wherein the half shells are press-formed parts made from steel blanks.

4. The bumper crossmember of claim 1 , wherein the crashboxes have a quadrangular cross-sectional geometry.

5. The bumper crossmember of claim 4 , wherein the crashboxes have a square cross-sectional geometry with rounded edges.

6. The bumper crossmember of claim 1 , wherein the crossmember has a corrugated structure aligned in the z-direction, wherein the corrugated structure comprises at least three vertex structures following the longitudinal extension of the crossmember, wherein two vertex structures adjacent in the z-direction are connected to one another by a flank of the corrugated structure inclined relative to a horizontal, and wherein the upper and lower end-face areas of each crashbox are supported continuously or at least substantially continuously on respective flanks of the corrugated structure.

7. The bumper crossmember of claim 6 , wherein the upper end-face area is supported on an upper flank which faces upward in the z-direction, and the lower end-face area is supported on a lower flank which faces downward in the z-direction.

8. The bumper crossmember of claim 7 , wherein the lateral end-face areas of the crashboxes each carry a support lug which projects toward the rear side of the crossmember and which is supported only on two flanks of the corrugated structure facing one another, and wherein the two flanks connect a central vertex structure to respective adjacent vertex structures of the corrugated structure.

9. The bumper crossmember of claim 1 , wherein the crashboxes are connected to the crossmember by joining only along their continuous or at least substantially continuous support.

10. A bumper crossmember for a motor vehicle, wherein an x-direction corresponds to a longitudinal extension of the vehicle, a y-direction corresponds to a transverse extension of the vehicle, and a z-direction corresponds to a vertical direction, the bumper crossmember comprising:
a crossmember extending in the y-direction and two crashboxes connected thereto in respective end sections of the crossmember, wherein each crashbox has an end connected to the crossmember and an opposite end configured to be connected to a structural component of the vehicle, and wherein, on the end connected to the crossmember, each crashbox has an end face facing the crossmember with an upper end-face area, a lower end-face area, and two lateral end-face areas,
wherein the crashboxes are supported with the end faces thereof only in sections on a rear side of the crossmember, such that support is continuous or at least substantially continuous either in the upper and lower end-face areas or in the two lateral end-face areas, while support of the respective other end-face areas is absent or provided only in sections, and wherein the end-face areas of the crashboxes not supported on the rear side of the crossmember are positioned from the rear side of the crossmember such that each end face is fully supported on the rear side of the crossmember only after a first phase of energy absorption with deformation of the respective crashbox,
wherein the crossmember has a corrugated structure aligned in the z-direction, wherein the corrugated structure comprises at least three vertex structures following the longitudinal extension of the crossmember, wherein two vertex structures adjacent in the z-direction are connected to one another by a flank of the corrugated structure inclined relative to a horizontal, and wherein the upper and lower end-face areas of each crashbox are supported continuously or at least substantially continuously on respective flanks of the corrugated structure.

11. The bumper crossmember of claim 10 , wherein each crashbox is composed of two U-shaped half shells adjoining one another along longitudinal joints thereof.

12. The bumper crossmember of claim 11 , wherein the half shells are press-formed parts made from steel blanks.

13. The bumper crossmember of claim 10 , wherein the crashboxes have a quadrangular cross-sectional geometry.

14. The bumper crossmember of claim 13 , wherein the crashboxes have a square cross-sectional geometry with rounded edges.

15. The bumper crossmember of claim 10 , wherein the upper end-face area is supported on an upper flank which faces upward in the z-direction, and the lower end-face area is supported on a lower flank which faces downward in the z-direction.

16. The bumper crossmember of claim 15 , wherein the lateral end-face areas of the crashboxes each carry a support lug which projects toward the rear side of the crossmember and which is supported only on two flanks of the corrugated structure facing one another, and wherein the two flanks connect a central vertex structure to respective adjacent vertex structures of the corrugated structure.

17. The bumper crossmember of claim 10 , wherein the crashboxes are connected to the crossmember by joining only along their continuous or at least substantially continuous support.

Assignees

• Kirchhoff Automotive D Gmbh

Inventors

• Töller Marco
• Günther Alexander
• Kremer Lena
• Schmitt Maria

Classifications

• B60R19/023

  Details · CPC title

• B60R2019/1813

  made of metal · CPC title

• B60R19/18

  {characterised by the cross-section;} Means within the bumper to absorb impact · CPC title

• B60R19/34 Primary

  destroyed upon impact, e.g. one-shot type · CPC title

• B60R2019/1806

  Structural beams therefor, e.g. shock-absorbing · CPC title