Underride protection bumper

• US 5,507,546 A
• Filed: 08/08/1994
• Issued: 04/16/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: John D. Holley
• Original Assignee: John D. Holley
• Inventors: Holley, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pedder, Dennis H.
• Application Number:
  US08/286,243
• Time in Patent Office: 617 Days
• Field of Search: 293/2, 293/6, 293/102, 293/103, 293/133, 180/276, 188/5
• US Class Current: 293/133
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 19/56 Fittings damping bouncing force in truck collisions, e.g. bumpers; Arrangements on high-riding vehicles, e.g. lorries, for preventing vehicles or objects from running thereunder

Abstract

A vehicle and vehicle bumper provide protection against other vehicles underriding the vehicle. The bumper uses breakable links which break at a predetermined force. The bumper structure has a pivoting arrangement such that, upon breakage of the breakable links, the pivoting of the bumper tends to lift the rear of the vehicle which is being hit and tends to smash downward on the front end of the impinging vehicle, which might otherwise underride the vehicle having the present bumper. A method of using the bumper to prevent underride includes the smashing down and lifting up features.

Claims

1. An underride protection bumper for an elevated floor road vehicle comprising:

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to the road vehicle; and

wherein said framework further includes;

a first arm fixed to said bumper member and

extending up therefrom to an upper end of the first arm; and

a first inclined member having a lower end secured to said bumper member and an upper end; and

wherein said first breakable link is attached to said upper end of said first arm and said first pivot member portion is mounted to said upper end of said first inclined member for pivotable attachment of said upper end of said first inclined member to a first anchor point, said first inclined member being inclined at an angle of 40 degrees to 50 degrees relative to a horizontal line; and

wherein said first arm has a vertical extent greater than a vertical extent of said first breakable link, said upper end of said first arm is at a higher vertical level than said lower end of said first inclined member, and said first arm is operable to smash down on an impinging vehicle colliding into the underride protection bumper.

8. The underride protection bumper of claim 1 wherein said framework further includes a first brace extending from adjacent said upper end of the first arm to a point on said first inclined member adjacent the upper end of said first inclined member.

2. An underride protection bumper for an elevated floor road vehicle comprising:

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to the road vehicle; and

wherein said framework further includes;

a first arm fixed to said bumper member and

extending up therefrom to an upper end of the first arm; and

a first inclined member having a lower end secured to said bumper member and an upper end; and

wherein said first breakable link is attached to said upper end of said first arm and said first pivot member portion is mounted to said upper end of said first inclined member for pivotable attachment of said upper end of said first inclined member to a first anchor point, said first inclined member being inclined at an angle of 40 degrees to 50 degrees relative to a horizontal line; and

wherein said bumper has an impact area over which the front of an impinging vehicle may contact portions of the bumper, said impact area having a side height at two sides substantially equal to a height of said first arm and having a height of at least one half said side height throughout a separation between the two sides.

3. The underride protection bumper of claim 2 wherein the bumper has a swinging portion which pivots about an axis through said first pivot member portion and wherein said swinging portion includes said first arm, and wherein said first arm has a pre-crash maximum vertical extent that is at least 80% of a pre-crash maximum depth of the swinging portion.

4. The underride protection bumper of claim 3 wherein said framework further includes a first brace extending from adjacent said upper end of the first arm to a point on said first inclined member adjacent the upper end of said first inclined member.

5. The underride protection bumper of claim 3 wherein said framework further includes a second arm, a second inclined member, a second breakable link, and a second pivot member portion constructed and operable in identical fashion respectively to said first arm, said first inclined member, said first breakable link, and said first pivot member portion and mounted on an opposite side therefrom.

6. The underride protection bumper of claim 5 wherein said first pivot member portion is separate from said second pivot member portion.

7. The underride protection bumper of claim 5 wherein said framework further includes first and second cross-braces, each extending between an upper end of one of said first and second arms and a lower end of another of said first and second arms.

9. An elevated floor road vehicle comprising a road vehicle structure and an underride protection bumper including:

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to the road vehicle; and

wherein said framework further includes;

a first arm fixed to said bumper member and extending substantially vertically up therefrom to an upper end of the first arm; and

a first inclined member having a lower end secured to said bumper member and an upper end; and

wherein said first breakable link is attached to said upper end of said first arm and said first pivot member portion is mounted to said upper end of said first inclined member for pivotable attachment of said upper end of said first inclined member to a first anchor point, said first inclined member being inclined at an angle of 40 degrees to 50 degrees relative to a horizontal line and wherein said first pivot member portion and said first breakable link are mounted to the road vehicle structure; and

wherein the bumper is operable, upon a front end of an impinging vehicle hitting said bumper member at a sufficiently high speed, to sever said first breakable link such that said bumper member and at least some other portions of said framework pivot about said first pivot member portion; and

wherein said first pivot member portion is disposed relative to a lower edge of said bumper member such that pivoting of said bumper member and portions of the framework about said first pivot member causes the smashing down of the front end of the impinging vehicle with associated friction between the impinging vehicle and a road surface and tends to lift the road vehicle at a point adjacent to said first pivot member portion.

10. An elevated floor road vehicle comprising a road vehicle structure and an underride protection bumper including:

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework and securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

wherein the bumper is operable, upon a front end of an impinging vehicle hitting said bumper member at a sufficiently high speed, to sever said first breakable link such that said bumper member and at least some other portions of said framework pivot about said first pivot member; and

wherein said first pivot member portion is disposed relative to a lower edge of said bumper member such that pivoting of said bumper member and portions of the framework about said first pivot member causes the smashing down of the front end of the impinging vehicle with associated friction between the impinging vehicle and a road surface and tends to lift the road vehicle at a point adjacent to said first pivot member portion, and wherein the portions of bumper which pivot about said first pivot member portion can swing over angle (S) of at least 30 degrees without the bumper striking the ground, wherein said bumper has an impact area over which the front of an impinging vehicle may contact portions of the bumper, said impact area having a side height at two sides substantially equal to a height of said first arm and having a height of at least one half said side height throughout a separation between the two sides.

11. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 10 wherein said framework further includes:

a first arm fixed to said bumper member and

extending up therefrom to an upper end of the first arm;

a first inclined member having a lower end secured to said bumper member and an upper end; and

wherein said first breakable link is attached to said upper end of said first arm and said first pivot member portion is mounted to said upper end of said first inclined member and pivotably attaches said upper end of said first inclined member to a first anchor point.

12. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 11 wherein said framework further includes a first brace extending from adjacent said upper end of the first arm to a point on said first inclined member between the upper and lower ends of said first inclined member.

13. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 12 wherein said framework further includes a second arm, a second inclined member, a second breakable link, and a second pivot member portion constructed and operable in identical fashion respectively to said first arm, said first inclined member, said first breakable link, and said first pivot member portion and mounted on an opposite side therefrom.

14. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 13 wherein said first pivot member portion is separate from said second pivot member portion.

15. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 10 wherein said bumper has an impact area over which the front of an impinging vehicle may contact portions of the bumper, said impact area having a side height at two sides corresponding to a height of said first arm at two sides and having a height of at least one half said side height throughout a separation between the two sides.

16. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 10 wherein the bumper has a swinging portion which pivots about an axis through said first pivot member portion and wherein said swinging portion has a pre-crash maximum vertical extent that is at least 80% of its pre-crash maximum depth.

17. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 10 wherein the portions of bumper which pivot about said first pivot member portion can swing over angle (S) of at least 30 degrees without the bumper striking the ground.

18. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 17 wherein the portions of bumper which pivot about said first pivot member portion can swing over angle (S) of at least 35 degrees without the bumper striking the ground.

19. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 18 wherein the portions of bumper which pivot about said first pivot member portion can swing over angle (S) of at least 40 degrees without the bumper striking the ground.

20. An elevated floor road vehicle comprising a road vehicle structure and an underride protection bumper including:

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework and securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

wherein the bumper is operable, upon a front end of an impinging vehicle hitting said bumper member at a sufficiently high speed, to sever said first breakable link such that said bumper member and at least some other portions of said framework pivot about said first pivot member; and

wherein said first pivot member portion is disposed relative to a lower edge of said bumper member such that pivoting of said bumper member and portions of the framework about said first pivot member causes the smashing down of the front end of the impinging vehicle with associated friction between the impinging vehicle and a road surface and tends to lift the road vehicle at a point adjacent to said first pivot member portion, and wherein the portions of bumper which pivot about said first pivot member portion can swing over angle (S) of at least 30 degrees without the bumper striking the ground; and

wherein said first pivot member portion has a height above the road surface which is greater than a swing radius of the portions of bumper which pivot about said first pivot member portion.

21. The elevated floor road vehicle of claim 20 wherein said first inclined member is inclined at an angle of 40 degrees to 50 degrees relative to a horizontal line.

22. An elevated floor road vehicle comprising a road vehicle structure and an underride protection bumper including:

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework and securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

wherein the bumper is operable, upon a front end of an impinging vehicle hitting said bumper member at a sufficiently high speed, to sever said first breakable link such that said bumper member and at least some other portions of said framework pivot about said first pivot member; and

wherein said first pivot member portion is disposed relative to a lower edge of said bumper member such that pivoting of said bumper member and portions of the framework about said first pivot member causes the smashing down of the front end of the impinging vehicle with associated friction between the impinging vehicle and a road surface and tends to lift the road vehicle at a point adjacent to said first pivot member portion, and wherein said first pivot member portion has a height above the road surface which is greater than a swing radius of the portions of framework which pivot about said first pivot member portion.

23. A method for blocking an impinging vehicle from underriding an elevated floor road vehicle, the steps comprising:

mounting an underride protection bumper to an elevated floor road vehicle, said bumper including;

a framework including a bumper member at a first end;

a first pivot member portion at a second end of said framework and securing said framework to said road vehicle structure; and

a first breakable link at said first end for breakably securing said framework to said road vehicle structure;

severing said first breakable link upon a front end of an impinging vehicle hitting said bumper member at a sufficiently high speed such that said bumper member and at least some other portions of said framework pivot about said first pivot member;

smashing down of the front end of the impinging vehicle with associated friction between the impinging vehicle and a road surface by pivoting of said bumper member and said at least some other portions of said framework, the bumper member and framework remaining above the road surface through the smashing down step; and

lifting the road vehicle at a point adjacent to said first pivot member portion by way of pivoting of said bumper member and said at least some other portions of said framework.