Method for improving the energy absorbing characteristics of automobile components
First Claim
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1. A method for designing an energy-absorbing impact zone for a vehicle interior, comprising:
- acquiring test data representative of an occupant impacting the impact zone;
determining a force versus deflection curve for the impact zone;
analyzing the force versus deflection curve;
adjusting the stiffness of the impact zone;
shaping the force versus deflection curve without exceeding a certain force limit and a certain head impact criterion.
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Abstract
A method is disclosed for designing an energy-absorbing impact zone for a vehicle interior, including acquiring test data representative of an occupant, determining a force versus deflection curve for the vehicle impact zone, analyzing the force versus deflection curve, and utilizing the analysis to adjust the stiffness of the energy-absorbing impact zone and to shape the force versus deflection curve so that a constant area under the force versus deflection curve has the minimum deflection possible without exceeding a certain force limit and a certain head impact criterion.
18 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A method for designing an energy-absorbing impact zone for a vehicle interior, comprising:
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acquiring test data representative of an occupant impacting the impact zone;
determining a force versus deflection curve for the impact zone;
analyzing the force versus deflection curve;
adjusting the stiffness of the impact zone;
shaping the force versus deflection curve without exceeding a certain force limit and a certain head impact criterion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of designing a vehicle impact zone that reduces the severity of injury to an occupant during a collision, comprising:
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establishing an impact criterion for quantitatively representing the severity of impact;
selecting a design threshold for the impact criterion;
conducting one or more dynamic impact tests;
using the dynamic impact test data to prepare one or more force versus deflection curves;
analyzing the force versus deflection curve data using a series spring analogy;
adjusting the stiffness of the impact zone;
shaping the force versus deflection curve without exceeding a certain force limit. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method of designing a countermeasure for an impact zone within a vehicle, comprising:
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establishing a force versus deflection curve representing data from one or more impact tests between a free motion headform and the counter measure;
establishing the force versus deflection curve representing a specific location within a vehicle;
establishing a force versus deflection curve database of various countermeasures for adapting to the specific location within the vehicle;
selecting a head impact criterion related to a vehicle impact zone criterion;
conducting one or more impact tests representative of the specific location within the vehicle;
analyzing the force versus deflection curve data using a series spring analogy;
adjusting the stiffness of the impact zone;
shaping the force versus deflection curve to minimize deflection without exceeding a certain force limit. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A method for designing a countermeasure for a vehicle comprising:
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means for acquiring test impact data representative of one or more impacts of an occupant against the interior of the vehicle;
means for identifying design criteria for limiting injury to the occupant during an impact against the interior of the vehicle;
means for representing the test impact data in a force versus deflection relationship means for selecting a material for the countermeasure including a structure characteristic having an impact performance that satisfies the design criteria.
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Specification