I have invented a way to make cars safer in collisions. Small cars need the invention more than large cars.
However, in side collisions, even large cars deliver huge g forces onto the passengers.
The invention uses a box of energy absorbing material that is connected to bumper shafts that stick out of the box.
During an accident, the shafts compress the energy absorbing material which absorbs collision energy.
This reduces the G forces on the passengers.
The energy absorbing material is shared between side and rear bumpers.
The bumpers are deployed before driving and retracted when parking.
The bumpers are NOT deployed just before an accident is anticipated.
My invention is patent pending.
The US Patent Website makes it difficult to see the figures in a Patent Application.
If you want to see the figures in my patent application, please print the patent text from the
US Patent Office website (the first link below), and then view the figures which
have a link below the US Patent link.
Click HERE to see US Patent Application
Click HERE to see the figures
Contact me at steve.shoap@alum.mit.edu
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The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has recently shown that small cars do poorly in
head-on crashes with larger cars. The small cars do best in head-on crashes because of seat belts
and front air bags. Small cars do worse in side and rear collisions. My invention will help the most
in side and rear collisions.
In the December 2008 issue of Scientific American there is an article on "Crashless Cars".
At the bottom of page 88 it states that lightweight cars are one way to get more fuel economy. It then states that
"Unfortunately, such 'lightweighting' often results in vehicles with less robust structures that tend to sustain more damage in collisions."
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From Society of Automotive Engineers Magazine: Automotive Engineering December 2008
Article: Bodybuilding 101:
Steadily rising requirements for crash safety from both tough new government tests and from consumers who demand maximum scores on crash tests have led carmakers to place ever-higher emphasis on designing vehicles that are strong enough to protect their occupants, while being soft enough to cushion the blow of impact.
European pedestrian protection requirements and upcoming U.S. rear-impact and pole side-impact tests are incredibly high hurdles for engineers to clear when designing vehicles for mass production at a reasonable price with maximum fuel efficiency.
While the challenges are getting tougher, interest in smaller, more efficient cars is rising, creating demand for a product that is even more difficult to create. Volvo Cars found this to be the case when developing the C30 sport coupe from the S40 sedan platform. The coupe’s truncated tail made the U.S. government’s rear-impact crash test much more of a challenge because of the reduced amount of crush space, reported Thomas Broberg, Senior Technical Advisor for Safety for Volvo Cars.
“Rear impact, specifically in smaller cars, is a challenge,” said Broberg. “The shorter the overhang you have the more difficult the challenge.” The solution is in careful design of the load path.
“You have to be more clever in how you dissipate the load.”
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From Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
Small cars have grown especially popular as gasoline prices fluctuate and consumers become more conservation-minded. Nolan cautions that even though current models do a better job of protecting people in front, side, and rear crashes than earlier ones, small cars inherently afford less crash protection than bigger, heavier vehicles. "There's no escaping the laws of physics,"
Nolan says. "People in larger, heavier cars fare better in crashes with other vehicles and in single-vehicle crashes than people in smaller ones."
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Click HERE to see a small car that was rear ended.
Below are figures of my invention. Please click on the link at the bottom of the page to continue.
