Pendulum suspended bumper assembly
First Claim
1. A bumper assembly for a self-propelled vehicle and adapted to detect impact with an obstacle and preclude vehicle damage caused thereby, the vehicle comprising a vehicle frame with a front, back and lateral side, and means for propelling the vehicle, and the assembly comprising:
- compressible means for cushioning the vehicle upon impact with an obstacle;
suspension means connected to the compressible means for suspending the compressible means from the vehicle frame in a manner enabling the compressible means to pendulously move in a multitude of directions of at least about 180°
including rearwardly and laterally of the vehicle frame in response to vehicle impact with an obstacle;
detection means mounted between the vehicle frame and the compressible means, the detection means having activated and deactivated states and responsive to movement of the compressible means in any of said multitude of directions for switching between states; and
the means for propelling the vehicle is responsive to the detection means to decelerate the vehicle upon switching of the detection means between the activated and deactivated states.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bumper assembly (12) is disclosed for use with a self-propelled vehicle (10) and includes a bumper (18) mounted to a bumper frame (16) pendulously suspended from a vehicle frame (14) by means of a plurality of hangers (20). When the vehicle (10) collides with an obstacle in its path, the bumper (18) and the bumper frame (16) pendulously swing and deflect at least one spring-loaded arm (32), thereby activating corresponding electrical switch assemblies (30) connected thereto to disconnect the driving power to the vehicle motor and decelerate the vehicle.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A bumper assembly for a self-propelled vehicle and adapted to detect impact with an obstacle and preclude vehicle damage caused thereby, the vehicle comprising a vehicle frame with a front, back and lateral side, and means for propelling the vehicle, and the assembly comprising:
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compressible means for cushioning the vehicle upon impact with an obstacle; suspension means connected to the compressible means for suspending the compressible means from the vehicle frame in a manner enabling the compressible means to pendulously move in a multitude of directions of at least about 180°
including rearwardly and laterally of the vehicle frame in response to vehicle impact with an obstacle;detection means mounted between the vehicle frame and the compressible means, the detection means having activated and deactivated states and responsive to movement of the compressible means in any of said multitude of directions for switching between states; and the means for propelling the vehicle is responsive to the detection means to decelerate the vehicle upon switching of the detection means between the activated and deactivated states. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. In a self-propelled vehicle having a vehicle frame with front, back and vertical sides, means for propelling the vehicle along a predetermined path, and having a bumper assembly mounted to the frame and adopted to detect impact with an obstacle and to stop the forward motion of the vehicle upon impact, wherein the improvement in the bumper assembly comprises:
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compressible means for cushioning the vehicle when the vehicle collides with an obstacle; suspension means connected to the vehicle frame and the compressible means for suspending the compressible means from the vehicle frame in a manner enabling the compressible means to move in a multitude of directions of at least 180°
including rearwardly and laterally of the vehicle frame in response to vehicle impact with an obstacle;detection means mounted to the vehicle frame and the compressible means, the detection means having activated and deactivated states for responding to the movement of the compressible means with respect to the vehicle frame in said multitude of directions to switch between activated and deactivated states; and the means for propelling the vehicle being responsive to the detection means for decelerating the vehicle upon switching of the detection means between activated and deactivated states. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification